TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. has created a task force comprising senior executives to oversee costs as Japan’s biggest automaker seeks to arrest a slide in operating profit.
The carmaker’s four executive vice presidents -- Osamu Nagata, who is also chief financial officer, Mitsuru Kawai, Shigeki Terashi, and Didier Leroy -- will be responsible for ensuring any funds for new proposals will be met by cutting spending on existing projects, according to a copy of a union newsletter dated June 2 obtained by Bloomberg News.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said last month at the company’s earnings results briefing that the automaker will take a closer look at its investments after forecasting a second straight annual decline in operating profit. The company sees the risks of a further slide in operating profit beyond this fiscal year as it forecasts stagnant sales, according to the newsletter.
Like its peers, Toyota faces investments in self-driving and connected technology, and is now developing electric vehicles after focusing largely on fuel cells in the past several years.