The idea of reopening the plant emerged from the need that GM had to build high-quality and profitable small cars and the need Toyota had to start building cars in the United States, a requirement due to the possibility of import restrictions by the U.S. Congress. The goal was to produce high quality at low cost, but supported by including workers in the process. The choice of the Fremont plant and its workers was unusual because of the previous problems. In spite of the history and reputation, when NUMMI reopened the factory for production in 1984, 85% of the troublesome GM workforce was rehired, with some sent to Japan to learn the Toyota Production System. Workers who made the transition identified the emphasis on quality and teamwork by Toyota management as what motivated a change in work ethic. Among the cultural changes were the same uniform, parking and cafeterias for all levels of employment in order to promote the team concept, and a no-layoff policy. Built-in process quality and employee suggestion programs for continual improvement were other changes. Consensus decision-making reached management level, in contrast with the old departmentalization.