Governor Greg Abbott: Toyota’s Grand Opening In Plano Symbolizes The Success Of The Texas Growth Engine
Governor Greg Abbott today will attend the grand opening ceremony for Toyota’s new North American headquarters in Plano, Texas. The $350 million, 2 million-square-foot facility broke ground in 2015 and will house 4,000 employees. Toyota relocated its North American headquarters from Torrance, California to the new campus at Legacy West in Plano.
Toyota's Grand Opening In Plano Symbolizes The Success Of The Texas Growth Engine
By Gov. Greg Abbott
Dallas Morning News
Today we celebrate another milestone marking the incredible momentum of Texas' continuing economic expansion. Toyota Motor North America joins Hulu, Jacobs Engineering, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kubota, Jamba Juice, Sabre and many other innovative industry leaders who have decided to go big in Texas.
Our greatest natural resource in the Lone Star State is the hardworking people of Texas. And that work ethic draws global leaders like Toyota to Texas every day. With the second-largest workforce in the nation at more than 13 million strong, Texas continues to be a national leader in job creation. In fact, more Texans have jobs today than ever before, even as more people are moving here every year from states that overtax and overregulate.
In 2014, Toyota Motor North America announced it would move its headquarters from Torrance, California, to Plano, consolidating its widely spread workforce from three other states to a new $350 million, 2 million-square-foot campus at Legacy West. And today we could not be more proud to celebrate the grand opening of what is, by far, one of the largest economic development deals completed in the state.
When Toyota broke ground in 2015, the company expected to house approximately 3,500 employees in the new facility. That number has now increased to 4,000, creating more jobs and more opportunities for the citizens of Texas.
"Made in Texas" is a powerful label, and Toyota's roots in Texas date back to 2006 when Toyota Motor Manufacturing went big in Texas by beginning production of Tundra and Tacoma pickup trucks just south of San Antonio. Toyota's decision to continue to invest in Texas is a true testament to the competitive business climate and available, skilled workforce that the Lone Star State offers.
As governor, I want to ensure that our job-ready workforce of both today and tomorrow have the resources they need to keep Texas' economy growing and thriving. We not only understand the needs of our workforce, but also the needs of job creators, and we will ensure that Texas remains the best state for business.
During my first term as governor, we made economic strides by investing in our workforce and further reducing taxes and regulations that stand in the way of businesses' ability to flourish. We established the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative to assess local economic activity, examine workforce challenges and opportunities, and introduce innovative approaches to meeting the state's workforce goals.
The Texas model is proof that limited government secures economic liberty and encourages unlimited opportunity. Restrained government, lower taxes, smarter regulations, right-to-work laws and litigation reform, these are the pro-growth economic policies that help free enterprise grow.
As the tenth-largest economy among the nations of the world and home to 50 Fortune 500 headquarters, Texas offers a business-friendly climate, with no corporate income tax and no personal income tax, along with a highly skilled workforce, easy access to global markets, robust infrastructure and predictable regulations.
With the combination of global business leaders, entrepreneurs, elite academic institutions and our outstanding business environment, companies of all industries and sizes will continue to thrive in Texas.