bagwell

TOKYO (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to increase base wages in Japan for the first time since 2008 as the nation’s largest company heads for record profits.

The average Toyota Motor Workers’ Union member will earn 2,700 yen ($26) more in base pay per month, Senior Managing Officer Naoki Miyazaki told reporters today. That’s 0.8 percent of last year’s average salary and below the 4,000 yen the union was asking for.

While a weaker yen has helped Toyota forecast a record 1.9 trillion yen ($18.49 billion) profit for the year ending March 31, the raise comes as Japanese companies brace for next month’s sales-tax increase, the first in 17 years. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pressing employers to increase pay for workers to help end more than 15 years of deflation.

“If the Japanese economy was more likely to continue to grow for another 12 months, we would see much more robust growth in wages,” Takuji Okubo, chief economist at Japan Macro Advisors in Tokyo, said in a phone interview before Toyota briefed reporters in Toyota City, Japan.

When including the 7,300 yen average increase in pay that workers receive based on seniority or promotions, Toyota said its workers will get a 2.9 percent raise on average.

Toyota’s union, which represents more than 50,000 workers for the world’s largest automaker, was granted its request for the average bonus to rise to 2.44 million yen, the equivalent of 6.8 months of salary and the most in six years.

Nissan wages

Other carmakers raised wages too. Nissan Motor Co. agreed to its union’s request for a 3,500 yen increase in base wages and bonuses equivalent to 5.6 months of salary, spokesman Chris Keeffe said by phone. Honda Motor Co. agreed to raise monthly base wages by 2,200 yen. Suzuki Motor Corp. won’t raise base salaries in Japan.

About 1,000 auto unions requested increases in base salaries for the upcoming year, the most since 2008, according to the Japan Confederation of Automobile Workers’ Unions. The average salary raise sought, excluding bonuses, was about 1 percent, or 3,048 yen a month.

Beyond cars, companies from Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to retailer Lawson Inc. and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. have announced this month they’ll be raising base wages too.

http://www.autonews.com/article/2014...ime-since-2008

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Well they've certainly earned a raise. Look how far they've come since 2008, all the highs and lows

yowps3

Toyota alone made more profit than all of the German automakers combines in 2013
**cough**cost cutting**cough**

Blackraven

The workers unions in Japan are alright........as they are hardworking and are efficient at what they do. Those people truly cooperate with the company and work for the best of both interests.

This is stark difference from say UAW auto workers in some parts of America...........wherein some of them actually get drunk while on the job

Whitigir

Wait....how much do they make per month now ? like 500$ ?

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Wow!
$18B profit and a $26 a month raise after 6 years and the workers have a union.
Imagine if they didn't have a union.

Whitigir

26 a month in Japan is a good raise. Their union is different than NA.

NA Union = Take the job for granted
Japanese Union = Great work ethic, dignity, and Respectable attitude

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

assuming $50k/yr, that's a .6% raise. they're all heart.

spwolf

Well, profit is going to be more like $24-$26 billion for the year.

And the rise is 2.9% overall as they get raise in bonuses as well, which is written in the article but OP decided to pick more sensationalist part :-)

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

How much money does a Toyota worker earn per year in Japan?

spwolf

well, from the article, it seems $66k is average salary, after the bonuses (they got $26k in bonuses).

Keep in mind that Yen dropped 30% in past year, so for them, it is $85k average salary essentially.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Cost of living may be high but that's a decent salary..

oldcajun

One thing not mentioned is that the Japanese economy has gone through a period of deflation. With costs going down, a constant income is like a raise since it buys more in products and services.
Steve

ydooby

2,700 yens/month / %0.8 = 337,500 yens/month = 4,050,000 yens/year =~ US$39,783/year =~ US$3,315/month

spwolf

it would not be bad to read the article, their bonus is 57% of their "base pay". It is even quoted.