Toyota closes two lifts to cut costs in HQ

Japanese automaker Toyota shut two of its eight lifts in its Tokyo headquarters in a bid to cut costs help the environment.

In addition to reducing the number of lifts in service it has adjusted air conditioning temperatures and has started to use LED light bulbs to save building operating costs.

The world’s biggest car maker made similar cuts during the 2008 financial crisis.

The company could not comment on how much the cuts would save the automaker.

Toyota told the BBC: “The key objective for the stoppage of elevators specifically is to raise awareness amongst employees, and to remind them of the commitment that Toyota has towards the idea of increasing competitiveness through staying lean and reducing wastage. At the same time, beyond cost-considerations, the above measures, alongside the usage of LED light bulbs, also help to conserve the environment”.

The measures come as the Japanese yen rose sharply amid financial uncertainties due to the UK’s decision to the leave the European Union in a referendum in June. After Brexit the pound plummeted to 31-year record lows and made investors rush to the ostensible security of the Japanese yen.

A higher yen would hurt earnings for Toyota as exporting cars would be more expensive and reduce the value of profit made overseas. On Friday the exchange rate is about ¥101 to the US dollar.

Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, passed measures to reduce the yen to create economic stimulus for the stagnant Japanese economy. Toyota benefitted from Abe’s measures and reported three straight years of profits. Toyota made ¥2.3tn (£17.7bn) for the year ending March.

Shares in Toyota fell 0.35% to ¥5,055 at 1711 BST.