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Toyota ‘shuts down lifts to save money’ as it expects dip in profits

Toyota said the company needs to 'stay lean' 

Zlata Rodionova
Friday 08 July 2016 16:01 BST
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Toyota said it shut down two of eight elevators at its main Tokyo office to save building-operation costs
Toyota said it shut down two of eight elevators at its main Tokyo office to save building-operation costs

Toyota, the biggest carmaker in the world, has reportedly shut down lifts at its headquarters in Tokyo in an effort to save money.

The company is said to have shut down two of its eight elevators to save money as it expects a fall in profits this year.

Toyota said the company needs to “stay lean” after the yen rose sharply, threatening the profits the firm is making overseas.

“The key objective for the stoppage of elevators specifically is to raise awareness amongst employees, and to remind them of the commitment that Toyota has towards the idea of increasing competitiveness through staying lean and reducing wastage,” a Toyota spokesperson told the BBC.

Toyota has not revealed how much the company is expecting to save from the shutdown, but confirmed similar measures were put into place following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, which saw the yen rise above the dollar.

Air conditioning and temperature have reportedly also been adjusted in the company office.

“At the same time, beyond cost-considerations, the above measures, alongside the usage of LED light bulbs, also help to conserve the environment. Being environmentally conscious has always been one of the important values within Toyota,” a Toyota spokesperson said.

“Hence, we at Toyota are actively motivated to find creative ways to fulfil our commitment,” she added.

Scott Brownlee, press relations and social media general manager for Toyota UK, said the company’s general philosophy is to identify and make marginal gains.

“It means that small savings and benefits, no matter how small compared to the overall task, can add up to an overall benefit,“ he told the Independent.

The company has reported three straight years of profit, hitting a record 2.31 trillion yen (£17.7 billion) in the year ending in March 2016, on the back of a stimulus programme by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aimed at weakening the yen.

The weakened yen boosted Toyota’s exports by making its products cheaper in other countries.

However the company warned net profits could fall by a third in the next fiscal year.

“Until now, we benefited from currencies and our profits expanded beyond our actual capabilities,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in May.

In June, Toyata recalled 3.37 million hybrid cars worldwide over airbag and fuel emission issues

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