Mitsubishi to increase local production, hires more workers

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) is hiking its vehicle production capacity to 39,000 units annually in order to meet a growing domestic demand and the company’s requirements under a government-backed incentives program.

To support this 47-percent increase from the current production rate, MMPC also hired an additional 500 employees for a two-shift operation, which will start by November this year, at the company’s manufacturing plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. This facility  has a maximum production capacity of 50,000 units annually.

“Working on two-shift production operations will indeed be a challenge for MMPC since it has been more than two decades since it has operated a full-swing, two-shift production operations in its former plant in Cainta, Rizal,” the company said.

MMPC president and CEO Yoshiaki Kato assured employees: “Although we are facing a tremendous challenge that will push us out of our comfort zones, this is a huge opportunity for our future [since] it will show to our principal, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., and the rest of the world that MMPC is globally competitive, comprised of diligent and determined employees with a passion for excellence.”

MMPC has earlier also committed to invest an initial P4.3 billion to produce 200,000 units of the Mirage line over a six-year period under the government’s Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program. The program aims to incentivize manufacturers in order to increase their domestic production. Amy R. Remo