Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s largest manufacturer and employer, said the wage increases labor unions have demanded going into annual negotiations this year were “surprisingly high.”
The carmaker will wait until the negotiations are finished before saying whether it will agree to the requests, Senior Managing Officer Naoki Miyazaki told reporters Wednesday in Toyota City, Japan. He said improvement in Japan’s economy and the need to boost personal spending will be considered in the talks.
Toyota this month reported profit quintupled last quarter and raised its forecast for the year ending March 31 to an unprecedented 1.9 trillion yen, as economic policies under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe weaken the yen and boost earnings from cars exported out of Japan. Abe has urged companies to raise wages faster than gains in the cost of living, as rising consumer prices risk undermining his public support.
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