200+ Employees Officially Move In At New Toyota HQ In Plano
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
PLANO (CBSDFW.COM) - Hundreds of employees are unpacking and settling in today at the new North American headquarters for Toyota. The relocation of the automaker's headquarters has sparked a boom in Collin County and the city of Plano.
The first wave of Toyota employees arrived before 8:00 a.m. with boxes in hand. Their new office space will be more than comfortable, with a fitness center, convenience store, a juice bar and Starbucks coffee shop being among a few of the amenities on the new campus.
The building that opened today, East One or E1, has about 55,000 square feet and is one of many on 100-acre Toyota campus. As more office space is finished out, more employees will arrive. The workers will arrive in waves, with some 1,800 expected to be in place by the end of the summer.
"There's a number of folks that have already relocated to our temporary location just down the street – they're actually the first folks that will come here to the campus," explained Doug Beebe with Toyota Motor North America. "We still have people in southern California, Kentucky and others parts of the country that will also be making the move here mostly over the summertime, that's when we'll peak in terms of that weekly average, but it's all part of the plan so that by the end of the year everybody's in safely and has gotten used to the environment."
Beebe, who is overseeing the move, arrived in North Texas three years ago, when the company decided to relocate its North American headquarters from Torrance, California to Plano.
Beebe said that the quality of life for employees was one of the main reasons for the move to Texas. "The school systems, the job market itself is very competitive which really just drives more and more talented folks to the area. It just has large promise for continued years of growth and quality future."
By Toyota's standards this has been a fast paced move. There are expected to be a few hundred new employees arriving each week.
Ultimately there will be some 4,000 Toyota employees working in Plano. And their arrival has spurred more Collin County growth and employment opportunities with companies like the Liberty Mutual Group and JPMorgan Chase building offices nearby.