The hallways inside Toyota Financial Services sprawling campus in Torrance, Calif., were likely alive with chatter and concerned conversation Monday morning.
That’s because the nation’s biggest auto captive had made it official: TFS will join Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, and Toyota Motor North America in a single headquarters location in a suburban office park in Plano, Texas.
About 1,000 TFS employees “in good standing” at the company’s California headquarters will be offered relocation and retention packages for the move to the Dallas suburb. “We hope all of our headquarters-based associates decide to join us on this journey,” said Mike Groff, TFS president and CEO.
After the announcement that included a company-wide briefing as well as a chance for Q&A, Toyota Financial spokesman Justin Leach told Auto Finance News that company officials were going out of their way to make sure employees feel welcome in their move to Texas.
The package also includes pre-relocation assistance for visiting the Dallas area to check out schools and other amenities. “People have a lot to think about,” Leach said. “It’s a life-changing decision for a lot of the company’s associates.”
Leach told AFN that financial and other tax incentives were not a factor in the captive’s decision to move. “We felt we needed to make the move along with the rest of the company,” he said.
Toyota is expected to make a $300 million capital investment in the state, and will likely employ nearly 4,000 people upon completion of the move. In exchange, the state of Texas has offered Toyota a $40 million investment through the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF), according to Gov. Rick Perry’s office, noting that the move will complement the company’s existing Texas operations.
Associates at TFS’ regional offices, sales offices, and service centers ― including those located in California, as well as at Toyota Financial Savings Bank in Henderson, Nev. — will not relocate.
The move will not change corporate or leadership structure; the company will remain a part of the global network of comprehensive financial services offered by Toyota Financial Services Corp.
Meanwhile, most TFS associates who choose to relocate will do so in 2017, when the new headquarters is expected to be fully operational and affiliate partners are in place.
TFS said that it will continue to have a strong presence in California, with a regional office in Anaheim and sales offices throughout the state. Across all Toyota affiliates, about 2,300 associates will remain in California after the relocation is completed.
