Toyota says quarterly profit up 10% to $5.2 bn, lifts sales forecast

Toyota has one hell of a warchest, that is for sure. Hopefully some of these profits find their way into the pockets of its workers, and into the Chubu economy in general.

Actually, I think their workers already make enough. Trust me, they are compensated very well . If anything, I think the consumers should be rewarded though; when's the last time any company has lowered its prices based on favorable financial performance? A car is probably the second largest purchase that any one makes in their lives.

As one of Toyota's American workers, I make less now than when i was hired on. It's very demoralizing when Toyota posts record profits Quarter after Quarter,Year in and Year out and we make less every year. Inflation goes up around 3% every year, our pay goes up 1% or less. It doesn't take long for it to start to hurt economically real fast.

@Spinnyd: Social security benefits COLA increase (Cost of Living Adjustment) has been around 1.3 - 1.4% for the past couple of years. Curious as to where you get 3% from?

Also, if your wages went up every time your company posted profits, and in amounts which reflect those profits, then are you willing to pay your company every time they post negative profits? ....food for thought.

Even after the Takata airbag thing? Jeezus, Toyota's on fire the last few years.

Hopefully some of these profits find their way into the pockets of its workers

Well if they own shares in Toyota, not just work for Toyota to earn their salaries, then they might expect that.

People are paid salaries for selling their labour.

The profits that a company earns as a result of running an operation (which pays for labour) belong to the shareholders, to compensate them for risking their capital in the business venture. It's not fair to suggest that shareholders whose businesses make money give higher salaries to the workers in the good times, because people would complain if the opposite were suggested in the bad times (e.g. workers taking lower salaries to compensate the shareholders should the operation lose money).

Those who take the risks, get the rewards. That is how it works.

Tahoochi, dead right.

Thanks to weaker Japanese currency. Way to go!

Shareholders are the main beneficiaries of such an excellent result, and so is no doubt the taxman. That said it's clear you people don't work in a corporate environment. Bonuses and pay increases are often directly connected to performance.

...it's clear you people don't work in a corporate environment. Bonuses and pay increases are often directly connected to performance.

@Akula: I do, and bonuses yes, but pay depends on individual performance.

Toyota credited "a weak yen and cost cuts" for its result.

Employee performance has nothing to do with the company benefiting from the weaker yen. (If the yen got stronger and hurt performance, would employees be expected to take reduced pay?) So no rewards for performance improved on that basis.

But for those employees who helped cut costs, they might indeed expect to be rewarded for any such efforts they made. It's definitely in the interest of the company to reward it's good employees well to prevent them from taking their labour elsewhere. (That said, this is Japan where such thinking admittedly may not be so prevalent).