Retired Honda Engineers Called Backed for Expansion
By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 16, 2005 3:46 a.m.
TOKYO – In an effort to accelerate an expansion of manufacturing operations in Asia, Honda Motor Co. is calling back retired manufacturing technicians and engineers.
Honda President and Chief Executive Takeo Fukui said continued expansions in China and elsewhere in Asia have begun taking a toll on the company's resources. Especially problematic is a lack of well-experienced engineers who could otherwise help Honda transplant its own manufacturing philosophies and systems outside Japan, he said.
Mr. Fukui said the problem is also worsened by a wave of retirements by engineers that has begun hitting the Tokyo-based auto maker in recent years as baby-boomer employees began turning 60 – the mandatory retirement age at many Japanese companies including Honda.
"We are falling behind in transferring the manufacturing knowledge and expertise of those retiring engineers to younger engineers," Mr. Fukui said.
"It's a big problem" because Honda needs more manufacturing gurus as it tries to set up plants or beef up existing factories to expand operations around the world, especially in Asia, he said.
To overcome the rapid flight of manufacturing experience and know-how caused by retirements of manufacturing technicians and engineers, Mr. Fukui said Honda has set up a wholly owned job-placement agency to help recent retirees find jobs back at Honda and parts producers working closely with Honda's manufacturing plants.
Many of those retired engineers that have come back are now in China and elsewhere in Asia training local workers and transplanting Honda's own production methods, Mr. Fukui said.
Separately, a senior Honda research and development executive said the auto maker is experiencing a shortage of engineers in Japan, specifically those who can look far into the future of automobiles. "The pinch we are feeling is for researchers who can really help us look far into the future of automobiles, [such as] experts in human science who can advance our understanding of the psychology of colors and the psychology of what makes people feel 'fun' when driving," said the R&D executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. (See related article.)
Honda also needs experts in material science, chemistry, and biology, among other disciplines, he said. "We are even looking for people who can help us with a discipline like logic … to really understand the mechanism of internal combustion," the executive said. |
