Nissan Overwhelmed By U.S. Workers Taking Buyout Offers

The Nissan North America Inc. said that 775 workers at its vehicle and engine plants in Tennessee, which equates to around 12 percent of the factories' combined payroll, had accepted a company buyout plan. Initially, Parent Nissan Motor Co. only expected about 300 of the 6,200 factory workers to take the buyouts but the real numbers astounded the automaker.

Nissan said that 681 employees at its plant in Smyrna and 94 employees at Decherd decided to take advantage of the offers. Retirements accounted for 303 of the combined number. Employees were offered a $45,000 lump-sum payment plus $500 for each year of service to walk away from their jobs. The buyout offers were not made available to employees at other Nissan manufacturing locations in North America.

The automaker is currently in the process of swiftly cutting costs to concentrate more on some production concerns. The cost cutting goal resulted to the relocation of its North American headquarters and 1,300 jobs from Gardena to Nashville in the previous year. The Japanese automaker said it offered the buyouts because of higher demand for passenger cars combined with lower demand for trucks and sport utility vehicles.

This program has resulted in tangible benefits for employees and the company, said Dan Gaudette, the senior vice president of Nissan North American Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management. Each person is unique, but several employees have already told us the program will allow them to return to school full-time, to start up businesses they have dreamed about or to start enjoying their retirement. It was the right program at the right time.

Buyouts have been odd among Japanese car makers with U.S. factories. Nissan said that it wanted to trim the manufacturing payroll in Tennessee because sales of labor-intensive light trucks built there were falling at the same time productivity had increased because of advances in manufacturing technology.

Nissan spokesman Fred Standish said the company does not have plans at this point to hire more employees for the plants. "The total number is good for us," he said. "We can continue producing."

Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn earlier noted a slump in U.S. sales, especially in sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. The automaker also expects a decline in sales this year after six strong years of consecutive yearly increases.

The automakers Smyrna facility, which is located 25 miles southeast of Nashville, is its principal North American assembly plant. It holds a total of 5,200 employees. The engine plant in Decherd, with 1,000 workers, is about 95 miles southeast of Nashville.

The Smyrna plant manufactures Nissan Altima, Maxima passenger cars, Nissan Frontier pickups and Nissan Xterra and Pathfinder SUVs. The plant is responsible for the assembly of auto parts like the Nissan EGR valve and ensures their quality. The Decherd facility, on the other hand, manufactures engines for Nissan and Infiniti vehicles built in the United States.