Yokohama Rubber relocating head office staff from central Tokyo

TOKYO—Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (YRC) is relocating its head office functions to a non-tire products factory in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from central Tokyo, in a move to increase operating efficiency by bringing management of core functions together in one site.

Among the management functions moving to the Hiratsuka factory are planning, production, sales, technology and logistics.

At the same time, some functions such as the sales and marketing departments, are moving to a new office in Tokyo, YRC said. The moves are scheduled to be completed in March 2023.

The new Tokyo office will serve as the headquarters for subsidiaries Yokohama Tire Japan Co. Ltd. and Yokohama Industrial Products Japan Co. Ltd. and for certain Yokohama Rubber sales and marketing departments.

In announcing the moves, Yokohama said it is taking into consideration a period of "dynamic change" in the automotive industry being brought about by the emergence of CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Services and Electric), MaaS (Mobility as a Service) and digital transformation (DX).

Concentrating management functions at one site will facilitate more efficient interdepartmental discussions and speed up decision-making, YRC said. The Company also will continue promoting work-style reforms, such as the use of remote work, which has been advanced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yokohama did not say what will happen to its existing headquarters facility in Tokyo's Minato Ward, the number of employees affected or what it's budgeting for the moves.