BLUE SPRINGS – After announcing that they would build a plant in Blue Springs, near Tupelo, more than two years ago, Toyota resumed production on the 1,700-acre site that will build the highly popular Toyota Corolla compact sedan.
Production is slated to begin this year, with the first car rolling off the assembly line by the Fall of 2011.
Officials from Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi (TMMMS) also said the plant will initially have 2,000 workers, and they also believe suppliers and vendors will create an additional 2,000 jobs.
First introduced in 1966, the Toyota Corolla is the biggest-selling car in the world.
After the economy collapsed, the construction of the Blue Springs plant was put on hold.
Toyota officials said the decision to begin production with Corolla enables TMMMS to open as quickly as possible. Also, by beginning production with Corolla, nearly all Corolla for this market will be built in North America. Some of the Corolla for North America have been built in Japan since April.
“Toyota appreciates the patience of Gov. Barbour and all Mississippians, but we first needed to fully utilize our existing facilities as the economy slowed. Now it’s time to fulfill Toyota’s promise in Mississippi,” said Yoshimi Inaba, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor North America. “Toyota remains committed to making vehicles where we sell them and to maintaining a substantial manufacturing presence in North America.”
The Blue Springs Toyota building is essentially complete with most of the remaining work involving the installation of equipment.
The administration office is already operating with about 60 team members in place.
Details about the hiring process will be released later this summer.
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