Toyota employees are receiving a salary increase following the United Auto Workers’ achievement of some of the largest wage hikes in automotive history.
On Tuesday, the Japanese automobile manufacturer announced that it will raise the pay of its North American employees, who are not part of a union, in order to remain competitive in the automotive market.
The pay for production workers is increasing by $2.94, while skilled trades workers will see a raise of $3.70. This will bring the maximum hourly pay up to approximately $34.80 for production staff and $42.20 for skilled workers, according to a report by Labor Notes.
“We value our employees and their contributions, and we show it by offering robust compensation packages that we continually review to ensure that we remain competitive within the automotive industry,” said Chris Reynolds, executive vice president of corporate resources for Toyota North America.
The pay increases come after the UAW secured tentative contract deals with the Big Three Detroit automakers: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (maker of Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge). All three automakers agreed to 25% pay increases for their unionized workers.
During the six-week strike, UAW President Shawn Fain stated that the union will attempt to unionize major nonunion automakers such as Toyota, Tesla, and Mercedes.