February 20, 2010

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-11) today sent a letter to the president of Toyota Corporation expressing his grave concern about the pending closure of the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) auto manufacturing plant.  

The text of the letter is below:    

Mr. Akio Toyoda
President
Toyota Corporation
1 Toyota-cho
Toyota-shi, Aichi 471
Japan

Dear Mr. Toyoda:
I am writing while time still remains to urge you to reverse your decision to end automobile production at the New United Motor Manufacturing, Incorporated (NUMMI) facility in Alameda County, CA.  Closing NUMMI would be a bad decision for Toyota and would be harmful for thousands of California families.  Given the unfortunate situation involving Toyota safety problems and the tough economic environment in California, Toyota can hardly afford the public opinion backlash that will inevitably take place if Toyota is seen as abandoning thousands of loyal employees in a suffering economy.

The announced closure of NUMMI would result in the layoff of nearly 5,000 employees at the facility and as many as 35,000 people in California.  This closure would have a devastating impact on NUMMI employees and supporting businesses in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, and Santa Clara Counties.

Private corporations have the right to make decisions about their own business operations.  However, closing NUMMI in the current economic climate would not benefit Toyota’s bottom line.  Toyota’s reputation for producing reliable, high quality vehicles is facing unprecedented challenges as a result of recent safety failures. Reversing the decision to close the NUMMI facility, thereby saving tens of thousands of jobs, would be a strong step towards helping Toyota rebuild its image in California and the rest of the country. Toyota would be seen as a reliable partner with California during tough economic times.

There are ample opportunities for Toyota to develop partnerships with local, nimble, and innovative companies.  I encourage Toyota to take advantage of the real opportunity to visibly demonstrate a commitment to developing partnerships in California.

Californians rightfully expect Toyota to continue producing cars in our area, which historically has been a large market for its products and should continue to be so as long as Toyota employs workers from our region. Keeping the NUMMI plant open would send a clear message that Toyota has confidence in American workers, respects the desires of loyal customers, and cares about hardworking employees.  Thank you for your consideration of this letter, and I hope that we can work together to preserve high quality American jobs.

Sincerely,


Jerry McNerney
Member of Congress