Toyota Corporation's President Akio Toyoda discusses the company's development during his 12-year tenure.
On June 16, 2021, Toyota Motor Corporation held its annual Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting at its headquarters in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. The event was attended by 383 people, the same number as the previous year.
In his address, Akio Toyoda, the top person at Toyota, reflected on the company's journey through major crises such as the global financial crisis, recall crisis, U.S. Congressional hearings, and the Great East Japan Earthquake. He noted that these challenges have enabled him to continue as president and have led to a change within Toyota, with more members starting to listen to his words and trying to change themselves.
Toyota's executive salaries are about three percent lower than they were last year. The company's total sales over the past 12 years amounted to 300 trillion yen, with about 70 percent of sales spent on purchasing parts from suppliers, amounting to 230 trillion yen.
Akio Toyoda emphasised the mutual support of various stakeholders in the automotive industry, including suppliers, dealers, and customers, in the growth of the company. He also mentioned that Toyota is planning to increase its dividends.
In response to a question about the company's contributions over the past 12 years, Akio Toyoda stated that it is due to these crises that both he and Toyota have been able to survive. He added that his colleagues and he have tirelessly taken action and faced reality together during this period.
The Toyota workforce has increased by 50,000 people over the past 12 years, but there is no publicly detailed information specifying which employees were counted since Akio Toyoda became president of Toyota Motor Corporation, nor exact data on how many were assigned in which years and in which world regions.
Akio Toyoda highlighted the company's actions as allowing them to learn from their failures and improve. He also mentioned that it was a coincidence that their share price exceeded 10,000 yen the day before the annual general shareholders' meeting.
If an annual household income is assumed to be 5 million yen, the economic impact of this increase in workforce is 250 billion yen going to household budgets. A 20 trillion-yen increase in Toyota's market capitalization is worth a 10 percent consumption tax increase in Japan.
In conclusion, Toyota Motor Corporation's annual general meeting highlighted the company's achievements and challenges over the past 12 years, with a focus on the mutual support of various stakeholders and the importance of facing reality and learning from failures. The company is also planning to increase its dividends and has seen significant growth in its workforce and market capitalization.
