The various measures under the human resources strategy are divided into global cross-functional initiatives and initiatives designed to be implemented effectively and efficiently according to the characteristics of each region and business. These measures are promoted in collaboration with the human resources departments of each region and business.
For the Komatsu Group, which operates globally and generates approximately 90% of our total sales outside Japan and has approximately 70% of all employees working outside Japan, the planned development of global leaders who will lead our businesses, functions, and regions is a key to growth. In addition to Komatsu Executive Officers, heads of major regional subsidiaries are appointed as Global Officers, who are responsible not only for their respective regions but also for part of the Group's consolidated management. In addition, from among these Global Officers, appropriate individuals are selected and appointed as executive officers of Komatsu to assume core management responsibilities. To systematically develop global leaders, including senior management, approximately 700 key positions worldwide are designated as Global Key Positions (GKPs), for which succession plans are formulated and updated annually on a rolling basis. For key positions, discussions on future development plans are also held with the President at succession planning meetings. In conjunction with these succession plans, Komatsu also regularly conducts the Global Management Seminar (GMS), an internal training program for current and candidate management executives, to develop global leaders capable of practicing management rooted in the Komatsu Way.
Throughout our long history, Komatsu has assigned many Japanese expatriates to work around the world. Today, however, we do not limit our efforts to dispatching employees from Japan to overseas locations. We pursue global mobility (international personnel transfers) to achieve a borderless approach to placing the right people in the right roles. We launched the Global Mining Talent Program in fiscal 2024 to support these efforts. The program is a training program designed to develop next-generation talent in the mining equipment business. Through this program, Komatsu provides opportunities for cross-border practical training to personnel expected to lead each region in the future. Through these initiatives, we will strengthen the competitiveness of the business as a whole by pursuing further global mobility in the mining equipment business and cultivating global talent who will lead the future.
With respect to the development of digital talent to create customer value through innovation, we defined the talent profiles we seek to develop through education and established an integrated educational framework ranging from basic training programs for all Komatsu employees to selective practical programs. Specifically, we provide training to develop business reform leaders, training to acquire problem-solving skills using digital technologies, and programs through which each participant can autonomously learn the skills they need.
In addition, through the activities of a global working team that is building a foundation for the use of generative AI, we are working to create an environment in which generative AI can be put into practice in each workplace. In fiscal 2025, we implemented literacy training for all Group employees on ways of working based on the use of generative AI. Through these initiatives, Komatsu will continue fostering a corporate culture in which all employees see generative AI as relevant to their own work and actively use the technology.
| Training program | Objective | Curriculum overview | Target participants | Number of participants (FY2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DX leadership training | To develop business reform leaders with a forward-looking perspective |
|
Managers, including those at Komatsu Group companies in Japan | 357 |
| DX problem-solving planning and implementation training | To develop personnel capable of planning and implementing solutions to business challenges using ICT |
|
Selected engineers and professionals | 30 |
| DX promotion skills training | To develop personnel equipped with the knowledge and skills required to promote DX |
|
All employees, including those at Komatsu Group companies in Japan | 150 |
| DX literacy training | To develop personnel equipped with the knowledge and skills required of business professionals |
|
All employees, including those at Komatsu Group companies in Japan | All employees |
A key to creating a workplace where employees can work with peace of mind lies in how fairly and appropriately employees are treated and compensated. Komatsu's personnel management system reflects individual abilities and performance, and maintaining fair and appropriate evaluations for each employee is essential. To this end, we ensure the implementation of evaluator training for all managers, as well as training for general employees who are subject to evaluation. At each business site, we also hold evaluation system management committee meetings jointly with the labor union to ensure that evaluations are properly conducted. Evaluation results are provided as feedback to both managers and general employees, and a dedicated contact point has been established to handle employee grievances and concerns.
Overview of the management by objectives system
| Overview | Interviews are conducted between supervisors and their direct reports to establish work goals at the start of the period and review progress at the end of the period. Based on the primary evaluation by the immediate supervisor, an Evaluation and Development Committee is convened at the departmental level. The final evaluation is determined through multi-faceted assessments by multiple evaluators and relative evaluation. |
|---|---|
| Frequency | General employees are evaluated twice a year, while managers are evaluated once per fiscal year. Regardless of this schedule, continuous dialogue and feedback between supervisors and their direct reports are used to promote talent development and the management and improvement of work processes. Additionally, management by objectives interviews are conducted on a case-by-case basis when targets change due to departmental transfers, changes in job responsibilities, or other reasons. |
| Target | Full-time employees (general employees and managers) |
The Komatsu Group’s basic policy is to maintain salary and compensation systems that emphasize employees’ roles, abilities, and contributions, thereby encouraging employees to take on challenges proactively and autonomously and to perform to their full potential. Komatsu Group companies in Japan and overseas subsidiaries also design and operate their salary and compensation systems based on this basic policy, while taking into account the laws and regulations, employment practices, labor market conditions, and business characteristics of each country, region, and company. To ensure appropriate wage levels, the Komatsu Group verifies the appropriateness of its compensation levels through participation in external compensation surveys and other means, and regularly reviews its salary and compensation systems as well as treatment levels.
Average Annual Salary (Komatsu Ltd. on a Non-Consolidated Basis)
| Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 8,308,017 (Yen) | 8,550,708 (Yen) | 6,641,250 (Yen) |
| FY2024 | 8,591,258 (Yen) | 8,832,771 (Yen) | 6,981,219 (Yen) |
| FY2025 | 9,024,576 (Yen) | 9,269,981 (Yen) | 7,415,248 (Yen) |
To achieve sustainable growth amid a rapidly changing business environment and an increasingly uncertain social environment, it is important to acquire, develop, and appropriately reward talent who are not bound by conventional methods or common assumptions and who create new products, services, and experiences with fresh ideas, as well as talent who can take on challenges autonomously and proactively, while also enhancing employee engagement. To this end, we will promote a variety of measures to realize a virtuous cycle of sustainable growth for both employees and the company.
Main systems and measures
| Systems and Measures | Content | |
|---|---|---|
| Support for career development | Career Development Program（CDP） | Once a year, supervisors and subordinates engage in career discussions to align career directions, promote the right people for the right position, provide growth opportunities suited to each employee, and support employees in taking on challenges proactively and developing their careers autonomously. |
| Career challenge program | A system that allows employees who wish to take on new roles to register their desired departments, job types, and past work experience in a dedicated database, enabling matching with departments seeking talent. | |
| Internal job posting system | This system includes “Challenge Support Type" postings for employees seeking to take on challenges in new business areas and "Hometown Personnel Type" postings for employees seeking to build a new career due to family circumstances. If employees meet the application requirements and personnel specifications set by the recruiting department, cross-organizational transfers are possible based on employees’ own applications. | |
| Study and research program | A program designed to enable employees to intensively acquire technologies and knowledge not typically available through standard training and apply them to their work. Eligible employees may apply to study at universities or research institutes in Japan or abroad. | |
| Subsidies for qualifications and trade skills tests | Employees who pass trade skills tests, which are national skills certification tests, receive partial or full subsidies for examination fees. | |
| Skill Up Library | An initiative to promote self-directed learning through a wide range of online courses and video lectures across various subjects. | |
| Career development training courses | In-house language courses and partial subsidies for correspondence courses and various certification exams designated by the company. | |
| Employee award programs for distinguished achievement | Various award programs, including performance improvement award, project award, individual merit award, health and safety award, technical merit award, and volunteer award. | |
| Sabbatical leave program | This program supports employees' "learning outside the company" at educational institutions, etc., for the purpose of acquiring new knowledge. Employees can take up to three years of leave, limited to once per person. | |
Employee training at Komatsu is based on development by job type and department, with the primary aim of developing employees into professionals in their respective fields. The knowledge required at all levels, such as the Komatsu Way and TQM, is included as mandatory subjects in level-specific training programs and provided across functions and departments.
Training hours and costs per employee
| Items | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average hours per FTE | Non-consolidated | 54 | 54 | 49 |
| Consolidated | 49 | 56 | 46 | |
| Average spent per FTE | Non-consolidated | JPY 236,000 | JPY 253,000 | JPY 248,000 |
| Consolidated | JPY 108,000 | JPY 122,000 | JPY 145,000 | |
Training program overview
| Name of training program | Target participants | Objective |
Implementation period (FY2025) |
Number of participants (FY2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global management seminar (GMS) | Senior executives and successors of overseas subsidiaries | To deepen the understanding of Komatsu’s strategies and leadership among senior executives of overseas subsidiaries through discussions with Komatsu executives and internal/external lecturers. | December 2025 | 13 |
| Global management development program | Junior general managers in Komatsu Group | To develop future executive candidates by dispatching them to overseas business schools (2–6 weeks) to build global leadership skills. | Year-round | 12 |
| Middle management strategy program | Junior managers in Komatsu Group | To develop future senior executives by proposing cross-functional business strategies through group research and presenting them to senior executives. | June 2025 – January 2026 |
34 |
| New executive officer's program | Newly appointed domestic executives (e.g., executive officers) |
To enhance the capabilities required of management executives. | Year-round | 8 |
| Manager refreshment training | Current managers in Komatsu Group | To encourage objective and holistic self-reflection through 360-degree feedback, thereby promoting improved methods for guiding subordinates and enhancing workplace communication. | November 2025 March 2026 |
829 |
| New manager training | Newly appointed managers in Komatsu Group | To understand and acquire four management roles (task completion, task improvement, subordinate development, organizational activation) and the four key elements of management (task management, OJT-based development, safety/health &compliance, Komatsu Way). | June 2025 – February 2026 |
243 |
| Assistant manager training | Newly promoted assistant managers in the Komatsu Group | To enhance the advanced job performance and problem-solving skills of newly promoted assistant managers and to strengthen their leadership foundation—especially in communication—in order to contribute to improving the overall organizational performance. | October 2025 – January 2026 |
343 |
| 3rd and 7th year training | 3rd and 7th year employees in Komatsu Group | To help employees in their 3rd and 7th year understand the mindset and behaviors expected of Komatsu Group employees and to acquire the knowledge, skills, and perspectives needed for future career development, while enabling them to carry out their assigned duties swiftly and accurately. | August 2025 – December 2025 |
339 |
| Training for experienced hires | Experienced hires and fixed-term employees appointed as regular employees in the Komatsu Group | Acquire basic knowledge of the Komatsu Way, safety, health, and compliance, and other topics while becoming familiar with Komatsu’s corporate culture. | Available anytime via e-Learning | 87 |
| New employee training | New employees in Komatsu Group | To provide new hires, including group companies, with basic duties, knowledge, mindset, and skills required as working professionals. | April – May 2025 | 349 |
| Foremen training | Newly appointed foremen in the Komatsu Group | To acquire the essential knowledge required as on-site supervisors and to develop the necessary capabilities to fulfill their roles as foremen. | July 2025 – February 2026 |
45 |
| Assistant foremen training | Newly appointed assistant foremen in the Komatsu Group | To acquire the essential knowledge and skills required as frontline supervisors managing subordinates for the first time | July 2025 – February 2026 |
94 |
| Mid-level employee training | Field employees (7th year of regular hire, 3rd year of experienced hire) | To acquire basic knowledge of safety and health, the Komatsu Way, and quality management, aiming to further enhance on-site capabilities. | Year-round (schedule varies by business site) | 155 |
Komatsu has categorized important master skills that should be passed down into 24 skills in 11 fields and has established a Technical Skills Improvement Committee for each field. These committees plan and manage skill improvement activities for employees at all levels, from new employees to highly skilled technicians.
In FY2006, Komatsu introduced the Meister system to pass down skills at manufacturing sites. Since then, highly skilled technicians in each field have been certified as Meisters and have been engaged in providing guidance and training to skilled workers not only in Japan but also at overseas subsidiaries and business partners. Komatsu has designated the third Saturday of every October as "Technical Day" and holds the “All-Komatsu Technology Olympics”. Employees from overseas subsidiaries and business partners also participate, helping to maintain and enhance the skill levels of the Komatsu Group by honing their skills through mutual learning and competition.
All-Komatsu Technology Olympics participation results
| Category | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 192 | 227 | 192 |
| From overseas | 32 (9 countries) | 33 (9 countries) | 34 (8 countries) |
Our service personnel, who support the operation of products delivered to customers, play an extremely important role in upholding Komatsu’s values of “Quality and Reliability.” Komatsu has established a specialized department, Komatsu Academy, and is dedicated to developing both its own personnel and service personnel at distributors around the world.
First, as part of our internal service personnel development and training programs, we operate the “Techno Service School” to train Japanese staff and the “Komatsu Philippines Human Resources Development Center” to train Filipino staff. We provide planned staff development through overseas assignments and rotations within departments.
We have established training centers in 22 locations in 15 countries worldwide to support the development of distributors responsible for sales and service. These centers provide training not only in marketing, service, and operator skills, but also in management development and improvement activities, thereby supporting the enhancement of distributors’ capabilities.
The human resource development programs conducted at training centers are planned or supported by Komatsu, depending on the content. For basic training courses on services and products, Komatsu provides curricula and training materials, and local Komatsu subsidiaries and distributors deliver actual training. We also provide more advanced training courses by inviting managers and senior service personnel to Japan, as well as technical skills training courses provided by the training centers (mother training centers) with specialized expertise. Having set up these training environments, we conduct knowledge-level tests to assess the capability levels of distributors and provide practical training integrated with sales promotion activities.
In recent years, we have further advanced hybrid training that combines online and in-person formats, conducting more than 400 training sessions worldwide, with over 5,000 distributor staff in attendance.
TOPICS
Development of a simulator
Ensuring safety, training operators, and maximizing productivity are top priority issues at customer worksites, which are always associated with a certain risk of accidents. Komatsu is working to help solve these issues at worksites by utilizing simulators. The Department for the Promotion of Distributor HR Development has developed a simulator that enables training in a virtual reality (VR) space using pedals and controllers installed in the same manner as in actual machines. By providing training for operators using this simulator, we are helping to develop human resources for customers and distributors, improve safety at work sites, and enhance construction efficiency.
Training Filipino engineers at KPC
Komatsu Philippines Corporation (KPC), formerly known as Komatsu Human Resources Development Center, is now in its 18th year since its establishment in the Philippines. KPC recruits Filipino students who have graduated from science and engineering universities in the Philippines and trains them over six years to become engineers who can work globally. Most recently, we established a new training facility (see photo below) in 2021 to strengthen our human resource development function. We will continue to utilize the new training facility to further enhance our training, and we are committed to expanding our business by developing our human resources.
| FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 12,285 | 12,344 | 12,435 | |
| Male | 10,771 | 10,804 | 10,851 | |
| Female | 1,514 | 1,540 | 1,584 | |
| FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,738 | 66,697 | 67,279 | |
| employees working outside Japan | 45,272 | 46,464 | 47,081 | |
| FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total |
41.2 |
41.5 | 41.7 | |
| Male | 41.4 | 41.7 | 42.0 | |
| Female | 39.9 | 40.0 | 39.7 | |
| FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 16.7 | 16.9 | 17.1 | |
| Male | 17.1 | 17.3 | 17.6 | |
| Female | 13.8 | 13.9 | 14.0 | |
| Total | Male | Female | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 12,435 | 10,851 | 1,584 | |
| 60 and over | 651 | 554 | 97 | |
| 50-59 | 2,869 | 2,473 | 396 | |
| 40-49 | 3,473 | 3,195 | 278 | |
| 30-39 | 3,483 | 3,147 | 336 | |
| Under 30 | 1,959 | 1,482 | 477 | |
| Total | Employment category | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Excluding blue-collar work | College graduate | Junior college/vocational school graduates | High school graduates/others | |||||||
| Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | |||
| FY2024 | 301 | 210 | 184 | 136 | 48 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 98 | 75 | 23 |
| FY2025 | 293 | 206 | 183 | 143 | 40 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 99 | 76 | 23 |
| FY2026 | 280 | 198 | 183 | 156 | 27 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 87 | 74 | 13 |
| Total | Experienced hire ratio | Employment category | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College graduate | Others | |||||||||
| Total | Excluding blue-collar work | Total | Excluding blue-collar work | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | |
|
FY2023
|
198 | 96 | 41% | 33% | 110 | 90 | 20 | 88 | 74 | 14 |
|
FY2024
|
158 | 85 | 34% | 29% | 86 | 66 | 20 | 72 | 62 | 10 |
|
FY2025
|
85 | 54 | 23% | 21% | 55 | 43 | 12 | 30 | 26 | 4 |
| Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 203（1.49%/1.26%） | 166 | 37 |
| FY2024 | 200（1.44%/1.26%） | 174 | 26 |
| FY2025 | 219（1.58%/1.25%） | 183 | 36 |
| Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New graduate hires in FY2023 | 290 | 209 | 81 |
| Employees remaining as of FY2026 | 279 | 202 | 77 |
|
Employees who left within three years (turnover rate) |
11 （3.8%） |
7 | 4 |