Toyota says it has completed recruitment of 520 new staff for its Valenciennes plant in north east France in response to increased Yaris production.
News of the additional hirings will be a welcome shot in the arm for France’s beleaguered economy, with national statistical institute INSEE, recording a current unemployment rate of 10.1% for the first quarter of this year.
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The company started three-shift operations last Monday (16 June) and said it expects to increase its 2014 production plan by 15% to 220,000 units.
“For the French plant, we have an increase in production planned for this calender year of 15% versus last year,” a Toyota Europe spokesman told just-auto from Brussels.
“The plant only produces Yaris, so it is based on Yaris sales [being] still strong, particularly Yaris Hybrid. We announced we would produce Yaris for the North American market.
“Last year was the first year of production, so we were ramping up and this year will be around 25,000 units for North America. [It is] only the petrol version for the North American market.”
The 520 new positions will mainly consist of assembly, welding and painting posts among others, with Toyota acknowledging it was “welcome news” for the region, which is fast becoming a key automotive cluster for France.
“What we normally do is hire people on an interim contract first and then some of them become permanent,” said the Toyota Europe spokesman. “This is normal procedure.
“It depends on how sales will do – but hopefully.”
The Nord-Pas de Calais area in which Valenciennes is situated, has the second largest automotive production in France, with seven sites responsible for 19,000 jobs and 140 equipment manufacturers employing a further 12,500 staff.
