A Message from President Brent Cooper on the Toyota Announcement: Just a little while ago we were informed by Mike Goss, Toyota’s Vice President of External Affairs and Communications, that they are relocating their Northern American headquarters to Plano, Texas. While this is bad news for Northern Kentucky, you should know that this “move” will not happen until late 2016 or early 2017, when construction of their new facility is completed. This gives our region time to replace those jobs and continue to grow our regional economy, which has been doing quite well recently. Our three northernmost counties (Boone, Kenton and Campbell) have the lowest unemployment rates in the State of Kentucky. The employees at the Erlanger location will be offered to relocate in either Michigan or Texas, with a limited number of additions in Georgetown, KY. We will certainly do everything we can to assist those employees who wish to remain in our region in finding new opportunities over the next couple years. Now more than ever, we must work strategically and collaboratively as a community to move forward as a region. It should be noted that Toyota has also announced they will be providing $10 million of continued funding for local non-profits and community organizations beginning in 2017, over and above existing commitments. While we are saddened by this announcement, Toyota continues to be a terrific corporate citizen and a leading business in our state. We wish them nothing but the best in all their endeavors.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 20:00:04 +0000