NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. will shift to a performance-based pay system this year, putting a complete end to traditional seniority-based pay, company officials said Tuesday.

The performance-based system, already in place for administrative, clerical and engineering employees, will be introduced for professional factory workers in April, the officials said.

The factory workers' skill and performance will be reflected in bonuses, retirement allowances and salary, as agreed by management and the labor union in December, they said.

Toyota has thoroughly reformed its pay system, personnel administration chief Naoki Miyazaki said.

He said the automaker should give top priority to international competitiveness rather than pay increases. Toyota's trade union has not asked for annual pay-scale increases for fiscal 2004.