PLANO, Texas -- Toyota officially opened its new North American headquarters on Thursday after investing about $1 billion on construction and moving costs for thousands of employees from its former headquarters in Southern California and smaller operations in Kentucky and New York.
"The opening of our new headquarters in Plano is an extraordinary step in Toyota's 60-year journey in the United States," said Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor North America. "With team members from four different companies together on one campus location, we believe this will inspire greater collaboration, innovation and faster decision-making."
Toyota unveiled plans for the One Toyota project three years ago to create more unified operations by bringing together quality engineering, sales, marketing, financial services and corporate functions at one location.
Occupancy began in late spring on the 100-acre campus and an average of a couple hundred employees per week are moving into their offices in phases that are expected to continue through December, Toyota said.
About 3,000 employees are moving into the area and another 1,000 are being hired locally to replace workers who chose not to relocate. Toyota has filled more than 75 percent of available positions, the company said.
The automaker is holding a special celebration Thursday evening with an estimated 350 guests. Speakers include Lentz, Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere and other Toyota and local representatives.
