Toyota Motor Corporation is to scrap executive vice president (EVP) roles as part of measures to streamline the company’s structure, improve production systems and cut costs.
Also on Tuesday, Toyota .named Kenta Kon as its next chief financial officer.
Kon, who is currently chief accounting officer, will take on the company’s No. 2 position in April, the Japanese automaker said in a statement.
Under the new structure, Toyota said it would scrap its six EVP positions, first introduced at the company in 1982, with current EVP roles becoming chief operating officer responsibilities. Four of the six EVPs will largely keep their existing roles without the EVP title.
It is the latest in a series of structural changes at Toyota, one of the world’s largest automakers, which is trying to simplify its operations to become more nimble to compete with rivals in developing electric vehicles, self-driving cars and other new technologies.
