Nissan cutting back North American design team
It was late 2005 when Nissan announced it was packing up operations in Southern California and moving to Tennessee. If you didn't choose to move east of the Mississippi, and many didn't, you were looking elsewhere for a new job. Some of the lucky few who dodged the axe worked for Nissan Design America, the North American design team split between sites in Farmington Hills, MI and San Diego, CA. Now, it seems those workers may have lost their immunity, too.
Citing streamlining in the automotive design process, Nissan execs are saying they just don't need the size staff they required in the past. Where it used to take four years to design a new model, now it just takes half as long and a smaller group of employees can readily manage the shorter design cycle. If there is a bright side to this news, it is that the layoff is quite small for the automobile industry--less than one dozen employees are expected to take the voluntary severance package.
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Avinash machado 8:15AM (2/21/2008)
So it is not just the big three who lay off workers.
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Shakatar 8:25AM (2/21/2008)
I hope whoever's responsible for the Maxima and QX56 is the first to leave.
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Gardiner Westbound 12:23PM (2/21/2008)
Thanks for the new designs that made us a success. Don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out.
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Gardiner Westbound 12:24PM (2/21/2008)
I don't know if Americans have gotten over their GM-inspired mad about diesels, but Canadians would buy these by the truckload.
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Gardiner Westbound 12:25PM (2/21/2008)
Oops, this was meant for the UK Chrysler 300C piece.
City 1:02PM (2/21/2008)
GOOD! i guess from now on we can get real Japaneses nissan.
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Cap2501 5:07PM (2/21/2008)
I dont know about that. They were responsible for the 350z which is the best thing to come out of nissan in a while (aside from the new GTR of course).
Cap2501 5:08PM (2/21/2008)
Its kind of funny too because they were always my best example of the fact that american's can design damn nice cars just american company's can't seem to make them.
vLane 1:39PM (2/21/2008)
Fun fact: only 1/4th of Nissan's workforce actually made the move to dumbasshickville in the first place. Back in the day, the company claimed half.
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R1R 1:38PM (2/22/2008)
You sound like a disgruntled Nissan employee. Nice of you to put down Tennessee, where people chose to live. Nissan just had one of their best profit years in history. The joke is on you.