A Toyota subsidiary will shut down its largest auto parts plant in the U.S. over concerns about a difficult path to “sustainable profitability.”
Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A. opened the facility in Marion, Arkansas, in 2006, making truck frames and axles for Hino commercial vehicles as well as for its Toyota parent. It is by far the U.S. division’s largest operation, accounting for about 70% of its workforce in the country.
In a notice posted on its website, Hino indicated that its board of directors elected to “withdraw from the parts business” at the suburban Memphis plant at a May 31 meeting. The facility, which employs some 1,300 workers, is scheduled to shut down by the end of 2027.
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Hino, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, told investors that the Marion plant had an operating loss of $189 million in its most recent fiscal year, and company officials concluded that “recovering sustainable profitability” at the site would be “difficult,” the May 31 document read.
The company said the move would allow it to “redirect” its focus toward its U.S. truck operations, and that it would treat its Arkansas employees with “consideration and sincerity.” Hino operates a truck plant in West Virginia and an administrative headquarters in Detroit.
State and local officials vowed to provide support for Marion employees affected by the closure.
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