**Toyota president Akio Toyoda donned a worker’s uniform to address the company’s Japanese workforce in an attempt to boost morale.**Toyota’s reputation has been battered by the recall of millions of vehicles worldwide because of safety concerns.
Speaking at the “all-Toyota emergency meeting”, Mr Toyoda again apologised for the company growing too quickly.
But he added he took heart from the Toyota factory workers and dealers he met in the US.
Some 2,000 employees, dealers and suppliers were present at the company headquarters for the address, which was also broadcast live to the company’s 7,000 other workers across Japan.
Mr Toyoda also spoke about his appearance before a US congressional hearing, where he apologised to politicians and US Toyota owners for safety problems that led to deaths and worldwide recalls.
“I was feeling lonely as Toyota was being criticised repeatedly on TV and in the newspapers, and I was being chased by the media,” he said.
But he was encouraged by the US employees he met: “I had been thinking I was striving to protect those people, but I realised I was actually being protected by them. I was deeply moved and thought I was really lucky to be a member of Toyota.”