Publications
Publications
- January 2021
- HBS Case Collection
Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (A)
By: Jorge Tamayo, Erik Snowberg and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago
Abstract
In 2011, Daniel Herrero, CEO of Toyota Argentina (TASA) since 2010, was about to meet with the Secretary-General of the union representing automotive industry workers in the country. The company produced vehicles in Argentina since 1997 at their plant at Zárate, and, in 2005, Argentina became one of the four countries selected by Toyota Motor Corporation to assemble models using the Innovative Multipurpose Vehicle (IMV) platform. However, Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Zárate (Argentina) had been performing poorly compared to similar plants, affecting its competitiveness, and TASA’s management held the union responsible for most of the plant’s inefficiencies. Anything was possible as a result of the meeting, from shutting down production at TASA and focusing on their distribution business, to complete capitulation to all the union’s demands.
Keywords
Manufacturing Performance; Bargaining; Production; Performance; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Fairness; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Auto Industry; Argentina
Citation
Tamayo, Jorge, Erik Snowberg, and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago. "Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (A)." Harvard Business School Case 721-394, January 2021.