Toyota closes its São Bernardo do Campo plant

The São Bernardo do Campo (SP) Toyota factory, in São Paulo’s ABC region, the automaker’s first plant outside Japan, will be closed. The unit, known in the past for producing the Bandeirante utility vehicle, currently produces parts that equip autos produced in Brazil, Argentina, and the United States.

The company informed that it will transfer the industrial operation from São Bernardo to the factories of Sorocaba, Indaiatuba and Porto Feliz, in São Paulo’s hinterland, and that it intends to keep the 550 employees who work at the unit. “All employees who currently work in the São Bernardo operation will receive an opportunity,” the company said.

According to Toyota, “our goal is to seek more synergy between our manufacturing divisions. It is part of our aim to increase competitiveness in the face of the Brazilian market’s problems and secure the company’s sustainability in the country.”

The change will be implemented gradually starting from December, with completion scheduled for November 2023. The ABC Metalworkers Union considered the measure an “irresponsible decision with the false justification of cost optimization”. According to the group, Toyota had indicated in past negotiations that it would preserve the unit and maintain its operations.

“The company went as far as saying that the products currently produced at the factory guaranteed its status as a productive, profitable, and competitive unit,” highlighted the union’s management in an official note. The worker’s association also called attention to the investments that Toyota has been redirecting to other factories in the country and complained about Brazil’s lack of industrial policy.

Toyota has been present in Brazil for almost 60 years, employing around 5000 people. The Bandeirantes was assembled at the São Bernardo plant. Toyota first built the vehicle locally in 1962, and the line was decommissioned in 2001.

Source: Valor Econômico

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