Toyota announces third shift at the plants in Sorocaba and Porto Feliz

Production increase will require 870 new employees

On Wednesday (May 2, 2018), the chief secretary of the Civil House, Claudio Valverde, welcomed the Management of Toyota at Palácio dos Bandeirantes. On the occasion, the automaker announced the beginning of the third shift at the plants in Porto Feliz and Sorocaba. The operation is advised by Investe SP since its implementation.

The process of hiring people for the two plants initiated by Toyota will create, in total, 870 new jobs, to increase the production volume from the current 108,000 units a year to 160,000 units a year. The additional shift at the two plants will begin in November.

“For Investe São Paulo and the state government this announcement is very important because it shows the confidence of a company that believes in São Paulo and sees the signs of growth that demanded the creation of this third shift,” said Sérgio Costa, Director of Investe SP, present at the meeting. “A whole chain of companies benefit from this third shift, not only Toyota, but also the suppliers and the cities where the plants are located,” he said.

This new shift at the two plants should generate 700 new jobs in the supply chain of Sorocaba. The decision to operate 24 hours at the facilities was based on its sustainable growth plan, according to the Japanese automaker. Toyota’s new premium compact car, Yaris, to be sold in the second half of this year, unleashes an increase in the supply of the company’s products to the Brazilian and Latin American markets.

In addition to the chief-secretary of the Civil House and the director of Investe SP, representing Toyota were Steve Saint Angelo, CEO for Latin America and the Caribbean; Luiz Carlos Andrade Júnior, Regional Coordination Officer (RCO), and Thiago Sugahara, head of governmental affairs.

“Today, my dream came true. With our employees, unions, partners, dealers and governments, working as a family, we were able to announce the third shift at Toyota’s plants in Sorocaba and Porto Feliz. This announcement will generate 1,570 jobs that are so much needed in Brazil and will help in the supply of the premium compact Yaris to our consumers. Congratulations to Brazil,” said Steve St. Angelo, CEO of Toyota for Latin America and the Caribbean and Chairman of Toyota do Brasil, Argentina and Venezuela.

The plant in Sorocaba

The company’s plant in Sorocaba, where Etios is currently produced and Yaris will be soon produced, will hire 740 new employees. Operating in three shifts, it should reach a production of 160,000 units per year combining the two products.

With five years of existence, completed in August 2017, Sorocaba was the result of an initial investment of US$ 600 million. It currently has 2,225 employees, already considering part of the jobs for the third shift, and it is a milestone in the operations of the automaker in Brazil, since it brings together attributes of Toyota’s most modern plants worldwide.

The premium compact Yaris, whose sales is expected to begin in the second half of 2018, is the result of a R$1 billion investment made to equip the plant in Sorocaba, which will produce the vehicle along with the hatchback and sedan versions of Etios.

With its production volume expanded to 160,000 units per year, the plant in Sorocaba meets the growing domestic demand for the Etios model, in addition to exporting it to several Latin American countries. Today, the Etios produced in Brazil is sold in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Costa Rica and Honduras. 

The engine plant in Porto Feliz.

The plant in Porto Feliz is Toyota’s first engine plant in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean and features the most advanced and innovative technology of production processes. Opened in May 2016, the plant produces the 1.3- and 1.5-liter Dual VVT-i flex-fuel and gasoline engines, which equip the compact Etios, sold in Brazil and in several Latin American countries, in an area covering 872,500 square meters.

Currently, the plant is doubling its size, which is the result of a R$ 600 million investment, for the production of engines for other cars of the brand to be produced in the country in the second half of 2019. Porto Feliz will have 130 new employees with the beginning of the third shift.

• Tweetar