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Toyota relocating Northern Kentucky jobs

Toyota plans to relocate nearly 1600 jobs from its Erlanger, KY facility. The car company says it is building a new headquarters in Plano, Texas.

Beginning this summer, approximately 1,000 jobs at Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA) in Erlanger will be relocated in small batches to Texas. The majority, however, won't move until the new headquarters are built, which could be in late 2016 or early 2017.

An additional 250 direct procurement positions in Erlanger are being relocated to a new facility being built in York Township, Michigan. Another 300 production engineering positions will be relocated to another new facility in Georgetown, KY.

Once the moves are complete, Toyota says it will have 8,200 employees in Kentucky.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear issued the following statement Monday afternoon:

FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 28, 2014) – “Obviously, we are extremely disappointed by Toyota’s decision. We would have welcomed the opportunity to discuss options with Toyota, but we will now turn our attention to preparing for this transition. 

We also are disappointed that the lives of hundreds of Kentuckians will be disrupted, and we pledge to assist those families however we possibly can. This transition will take two to three years to achieve, and Toyota has assured us that the company plans to offer industry-leading programs and packages to its people.

In the past 30 years, Toyota has invested approximately $6 billion in Kentucky. And with 300 jobs moving from Erlanger to Georgetown and 750 new jobs being added to support production of the Lexus ES 350, there will be some 8,200 Toyota employees in Kentucky after the move. The Toyota officials have assured us that a continued strong presence in Kentucky is central to Toyota’s ongoing success. 

Kentucky remains a powerful force in auto manufacturing, and we will do everything possible to maintain and strengthen Kentucky's position as one of the top states for the auto industry.”

Reaction from Northern Kentucky Tri-ED:

“Toyota has set a high standard for corporate citizenship, expanding capacity and jobs in Northern Kentucky many times since it first located in the region in 1996,” said Dan Tobergte, President and CEO of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED. “We never like to see a company leave our community. Our understanding is that Toyota’s decision was based on geographic location in Texas between the Sales and Marketing Division from California and the Engineering and Production Support division from Northern Kentucky.”

Senior Editor and reporter at WVXU with more than 20 years experience in public radio; formerly news and public affairs producer with WMUB. Would really like to meet your dog.