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Toyota gave local elected leaders and members of the media a bus tour of its nearly complete rear axle plant on San Antonio's South Side on Monday.
The plant will be fully operational in 2027, but it will begin supplying the Tundra plant next door this fall. Around 40% of the axles will go into those pickups, and Sequoia SUVS made there. The other 60% will end up in Tacoma pickups made in Mexico.
Slightly more than 400 workers will be hired over a 16-month period to fill jobs at the axle plant and the main vehicle manufacturing plant next door.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas President Frank Voss said the jobs come with competitive pay and benefits.
Starting wages for the production jobs is slightly more than $22 per hour.
Toyota also offers some convenient perks to keep its employees healthy.
"We've also got a medical facility right here on site. We do have health care available. We've got a pharmacy. We have eyecare. We have dentistry here," Voss said.
Learn more about careers at Toyota here.
The axle plant will produce half-a-million rear axles a year once it becomes fully operational.
Part of the job training includes simulating welding tasks virtually — as in a video game.
With the new hires, Toyota's total local workforce will swell to more than 4,000
The Japanese company broke ground on its main vehicle plant here in 2003, and production started in 2006.
It's the only place in the world where Tundras and Sequoias roll off one production line, according to Toyota officials.
