Toyota facing A FULL BLOWN EMERGENCY!

GREG KEENAN
Globe and Mail Update
February 12, 2009 at 6:54 PM EST
In past years, Toyota Motor Corp. [TM-N]has been dealing with minor crises and even making some up to combat what it calls big-company disease and the complacency that comes with almost constant success.

Now it's facing a full-blown emergency, which Toyota will address in North America by cutting pay for senior executives, eliminating their bonuses and those of salaried and hourly employees, cutting production again, and offering its first-ever U.S.-wide voluntary separation program to reduce the size of its work force.

The crisis, which will help cause the first financial loss in the company's 70-year history, makes adhering to its system, known as the Toyota Way, even more critical, said Jeffrey Liker, a professor of industrial and operations engineering at the University of Michigan.

"The core pillars of the Toyota Way are respect for people and continuous improvement," said Prof. Liker, who has written two books about the company. "Respect for people is a commitment to the economic and social well-being of all permanent employees. That's a commitment that 'we're not going to dump you because it's convenient for us.'"
The elements of the global automotive meltdown are becoming more familiar by the day as company after company announces massive job cuts, throttles back production and pleads with government for financial support.

On Monday, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. said it will slash 20,000 jobs worldwide. A day later, General Motors Corp. announced the elimination of 10,000 salaried jobs.
The elements of the global automotive meltdown are becoming more familiar by the day as company after company announces massive job cuts, throttles back production and pleads with government for financial support.

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