While automakers move heaven and earth to get their manufacturing operations safely up and running and their dealers selling vehicles again, the disruptive COVID-19 pandemic may have also reconfigured the way companies think about recruiting and retaining employees, says the executive who leads Toyota’s manufacturing and human resources in North America.
Chris Reynolds, chief administrative officer, manufacturing and corporate resources for Toyota Motor North America, says the way employees have shown this spring that they can work remotely will reduce geographic limits on recruiting and hiring.
“If we’re now working from home and can do things virtually, do I care whether you’re in Plano, Texas, or Detroit, Mich.? I may not, depending on the job, as long as you can get to Plano periodically to meet with your team,” Reynolds told Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein last week as part of the “Congress Conversations” series.
“I think there’s a lot of potential here, where we can see,…
