Toyota Motor Corp plans to replace its president after the Japanese carmaker forecast its first-ever operating loss, a report said Tuesday. The auto giant is considering moving vice president Akio Toyoda to the post, which is held by Katsuaki Watanabe, in April at the start of the next business year, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.
Arrangements have been made to give Watanabe a more advisory role of vice chairman, the daily said without citing sources. No official was immediately available at Toyota's head office to comment on the report. Toyoda, 52, a grandson of Toyota's founder Kiichiro Toyoda, would be the first member of the family in 14 years to become the company's president. Tatsuro Toyoda was the last president from the founder's clan.
On Monday, Toyota said it expected an operating loss of 150 billion yen (1.69 billion dollars) for the financial year to March 2009, the first loss since it started reporting annual earnings in March 1941. Last year it posted 2.27 trillion yen in operating profit.
Toyota said it still expected to make a profit on a net level but cut its forecast sharply to 50 billion yen, down from a previous estimate of 550 billion yen. Toyota, which vies with GM for the crown of the world's largest automaker, said it was cutting back production and investment as a slump in sales and a soaring yen wreak havoc on its balance sheet.