Toyota move seen driving a jobs boom
Toyota will probably shift production of the Matrix crossover vehicle from Cambridge to Woodstock within the next year to make room for more output of the popular Corolla compact in a move that should create several hundred jobs, sources say.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. wouldn`t confirm the move yesterday, but sources familiar with the automaker`s plans said the company will jack up output of the Corolla and Matrix in Cambridge starting next month in advance of the transfer.
After building extra inventory of the Matrix, Toyota will likely suspend its production, move tooling to the Woodstock plant about 50 kilometres southwest, hire more full-time workers for that operation – and then resume output, the sources said.
The company`s Japanese parent is closing a California assembly plant – which currently builds the Corolla and Tacoma pickup – next March and shifting the compact`s production to Cambridge and Japan and the truck`s output to Texas.
That plant, a joint venture with General Motors called New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), also assembled the Pontiac Vibe crossover model, production of which was discontinued last month.
In addition to creating a need for Corolla production elsewhere, the demise of the Vibe also leaves more growth potential for the competing but slumping Matrix.
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