Toyota Motor and Mazda Motor on Thursday announced that they will put together $2.3 billion in a new joint partnership to build a factory in Alabama. The figure is $830 million more than the two companies initially disclosed in 2018.
In a media release, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said the additional investment will be used to integrate top-of-the-line industrial technologies into assembly lines. The money will also be used to train the 4,000 personnel the companies plan to hire, the governor's office disclosed.
Production is seen to begin in 2021 for around 150,000 Toyota SUVs and 150,000 Mazda vehicles per year. The Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM), the name of the new joint venture, is expected to get $97 million in extra tax incentives for the new project, a person with knowledge of the matter stated.
To date, MTM has approved the applications of 600 workers in a hiring binge that started in January this year. The auto giants will continue accepting job applicants for production positions for the rest of the year.
According to MTM Administration vice president Mark Brazeal, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing is "happy to call Alabama home." As the group braces for the start of manufacturing next year, Brazeal said they look forward to creating a future team of staffers and be a company that the locals can call their own.
As MTM pushes through with construction work, they expect to spend a lot more than they have planned as an ongoing pandemic gets in the way of their budget. The production facility's flooring, fire protection system, roofing and electrical lines are almost complete, the group said.
Colin Daly, Limestone County Commission director, said they are "thrilled to have a new investment" by MTM, adding that they are very happy for MTM's trust in the community and look forward to a strong cooperation with the auto giants. It will "magnify" the economic impact of an investment seen to revolutionize the Northern Alabama area, Greg Canfield, Alabama Commerce Department secretary, said.
