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Beebe: Marion's perceived work force problems resolved since Toyota chose Tupelo Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007 By Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau NORTH LITTLE ROCK - Some perceived negatives about Marion's work force mentioned by auto parts suppliers after Toyota chose Tupelo, Miss., for an auto assembly plant over the eastern Arkansas city have been resolved, Gov. Mike Beebe said Tuesday. Those negatives were not necessarily a reflection on the work force but on a state agency and the workers it was providing existing auto parts suppliers in and around Marion, Beebe said after speaking at an Arkansas Economic Developers luncheon. "We had some feedback from some existing parts manufacturers that, in the past, the state would send a bunch of folks as employees to go to work for them and they might work a few days or a week and quit," Beebe said. "They were very frustrated because they were spending a lot of time hiring people and then they weren't there, and they've got to rehire, and they've got a lot of time, energy, paper work going on, and it really hurts their productivity," Beebe said. The governor did not mention specific suppliers. Hino Motors, which is located in Marion, is a subsidiary of Toyota and produces parts for Toyota Tundra trucks. Denso Manufacturing is located in nearby Osceola and produces automotive heating and air conditioning components. Officials at Hino and Denso did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday. Beebe said that at the time, the state, like most other states, was not screening employees before supplying them. Now the agency is putting potential employees through a work force training simulation to determine who's serious about the job "so the company itself doesn't end up wasting a lot of time, get frustrated, get mad at Arkansas and start bad-mouthing us," Beebe said. When Toyota officials announced their decision to locate in Tupelo last February, they sent mixed messages as to why Marion was ruled out. At the press conference, Toyota officials did not directly criticize the Marion area's work force, but praised the Tupelo work force as being "educated, ethical and friendly with a strong work ethic." "The primary reason Toyota selected Tupelo was the quality of the work force and the leadership in the community," Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said at a February press conference announcing Toyota's decision. But one Toyota official said Tupelo was chosen because of air quality concerns in Marion, and Beebe confirmed that Toyota officials told him that was the reason. Another Toyota official said air quality was not a deciding factor. The work force training simulation could bode well for future economic development in the area, Beebe said Tuesday. "(The suppliers) are a lot happier with us and they're talking now about that to their other companies and to their own companies about expansion," he said. |
