Help Wanted

Onsite suppliers at Toyota Motor Corp.'s new San Antonio, TX, truck plant are having difficulty finding qualified workers to fill manufacturing jobs, Ward's learns.

There are 21 onsite companies, comprising the first supplier park at a Toyota North American vehicle assembly plant.

The auto maker also is coming up short on competent candidates, with only half the assembly jobs filled, an executive says. The first salable Tundra fullsize pickup truck is due to roll off the line Nov. 17.

With just four months to go before Toyota Motor Mfg. Texas Inc. launches production, sources say the pace for filling all jobs at the site has been slower than expected and the caliber of job applicants lower than anticipated.

“The quality and quantity of people haven't met expectations,” one source tells Ward's. While Toyota reportedly has received 100,000 resumes for its 2,000 plant positions, the source says the auto maker also is scrambling to find qualified workers.

“(Toyota is) not sure they can staff a second shift, let alone staff up a second building,” the source says, in reference to a much-speculated expansion of the plant, which currently has capacity to build 200,000 Tundras annually.

A spokeswoman for Alamo WorkSource, which is funneling applicants for both Toyota and onsite suppliers, says about 1,200 supplier jobs remain open.

Having to compete with Toyota in recruiting workers is contributing to the dearth of interest in supplier positions, the Alamo WorkSource spokeswoman says. The lengthy hiring process at Toyota likely is hurting recruitment as well.