View Poll Results: Nissan's move to Tennessee, a good or bad move?
Good move, they like saving money
7
63.64%
Bad move, the negatives outweigh the pros
4
36.36%
Voters: 11. You may not vote on this poll
The Ghosn Method strikes again! Nissan planning to leave SoCal for Tennessee.
11-10-05, 05:37 AM
#1
Lexus Connoisseur
Thread Starter
The Ghosn Method strikes again! Nissan planning to leave SoCal for Tennessee.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?se...ess&id=3600980
Nissan Move Could Cost Jobs Locally
BUSINESS NEWS - Nissan Motor Co. is likely to announce as early as next week that it will move its North American headquarters, and 1,300 jobs, from Gardena to Tennessee as a cost-cutting measure, it was reported today.
About a dozen people -- including Nissan managers, auto consultants and government officials, all of whom asked not to be identified -- told the Los Angeles Times that the automaker had set things in motion to move its headquarters to the Nashville area, where Nissan's largest U.S. manufacturing plant is located. Nissan executives declined to comment. "We are studying the issue and when a decision is made we will announce it," spokesman Fred Standish told The Times.
But several company insiders, who asked to remain unidentified because they feared losing their jobs, told The Times that Nissan already has signed a deal to lease new headquarters facilities in Williamson County, Tenn.
The area is close to Nashville and is about 20 miles west of Nissan's North American manufacturing headquarters in Smyrna, where the company has 7,000 workers.
On Monday, a group of Los Angeles political and economic development officials, along with a representative of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office, met with Nissan executives in Gardena, The Times reported.
Nissan is concerned about the added expense of staying in California and "about government attitudes" in the state, an official who asked to remain unidentified told The Times.
Nissan employs about 1,300 people in Gardena and Carson, where its top North American management, marketing, advertising, sales distribution and development staffs work.
Video: A Nissan Move Could Cost Jobs Locally
Nissan Move Could Cost Jobs Locally
BUSINESS NEWS - Nissan Motor Co. is likely to announce as early as next week that it will move its North American headquarters, and 1,300 jobs, from Gardena to Tennessee as a cost-cutting measure, it was reported today.
About a dozen people -- including Nissan managers, auto consultants and government officials, all of whom asked not to be identified -- told the Los Angeles Times that the automaker had set things in motion to move its headquarters to the Nashville area, where Nissan's largest U.S. manufacturing plant is located. Nissan executives declined to comment. "We are studying the issue and when a decision is made we will announce it," spokesman Fred Standish told The Times.
But several company insiders, who asked to remain unidentified because they feared losing their jobs, told The Times that Nissan already has signed a deal to lease new headquarters facilities in Williamson County, Tenn.
The area is close to Nashville and is about 20 miles west of Nissan's North American manufacturing headquarters in Smyrna, where the company has 7,000 workers.
On Monday, a group of Los Angeles political and economic development officials, along with a representative of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office, met with Nissan executives in Gardena, The Times reported.
Nissan is concerned about the added expense of staying in California and "about government attitudes" in the state, an official who asked to remain unidentified told The Times.
Nissan employs about 1,300 people in Gardena and Carson, where its top North American management, marketing, advertising, sales distribution and development staffs work.
Video: A Nissan Move Could Cost Jobs Locally
11-10-05, 05:40 AM
#2
Lexus Connoisseur
Thread Starter
Nissan to Leave Southland
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...ck=1&cset=true
The Japanese automaker is expected to announce today that it will move its main U.S. office from Gardena to Nashville.
By John O'Dell, Times Staff Writer
After nearly half a century of calling Southern California home, Nissan North America is preparing to call it quits.
The company is scheduled to announce in Nashville today that it will relocate its corporate headquarters and 1,300 jobs from Gardena to a growing automotive center in central Tennessee. Nissan already has more than 6,500 employees at its largest U.S. assembly plant in the Nashville suburb of Smyrna.
Company representatives declined to comment, but Associated Press reported late Wednesday that Tennessee state Rep. Glen Casada had confirmed that the announcement was to be made jointly by Gov. Phil Bredesen and top Nissan executives at a news conference in the state Capitol. Neither Casada nor Bredesen could be reached for comment.
Separately, a Nashville-area real estate industry insider, who asked not to be identified for fear of jeopardizing his job, told The Times late Wednesday that a major regional developer, Crescent Resources, planned to announce today that it had signed Nissan to an office leasing deal.
Representatives of Charlotte, N.C.-based Crescent could not be reached. The company is developing a 1-million-square-foot office complex called Cool Springs in Tennessee's fast-growing Williamson County, 15 miles south of Nashville and about the same distance from Nissan's manufacturing headquarters in Smyrna.
The Times also obtained a copy of an e-mail sent to employees in Gardena late Wednesday, notifying them of an important announcement from Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn to be broadcast on the company's internal television system at 9 this morning.
Ghosn heads the Japanese automaker's North American Management Council, which ended a three-day meeting in Hilton Head, S.C., on Wednesday and was expected to reach a decision on whether to relocate.
The move, which is not expected to take place before next summer, could hurt the ability of economic development groups to woo new business to Southern California.
"It is always painful to lose an important corporation," said Jack Kyser, senior economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. His group was part of a multi-agency team that tried to persuade Nissan to stay. The company began its U.S. operations in Los Angeles in 1958.
"We have more than 4 million nonfarm jobs in Los Angeles County, so it's not going to throw the economy into a tailspin," Kyser said.
"But they are very highly paid jobs," he said, referring to the affected Nissan positions. "And the loss of a corporate headquarters is something that other states will be able to use against us" in recruiting businesses.
The relocation has long been anticipated — a study of the benefits of moving to the Nashville area was begun nearly a year ago after Ghosn launched a global effort to reduce administrative and operating expenses.
Nissan would find it economical to move because wages and the cost of fringe benefits in the Nashville area are lower than in Southern California, where housing and other costs are much greater than in the South, relocation specialists said.
Additionally, Nissan would probably save on office and utility costs and could reduce overall employment by combining many of its headquarters' administrative and support jobs with similar positions at its manufacturing headquarters about 20 miles southeast of Nashville.
Relocating would place the company's North American headquarters near its principal operations: the Smyrna assembly plant, a 1,300-employee engine plant in Decherd, Tenn., and a 4,100-employee truck and minivan plant in Canton, Miss.
Although Nissan may be leaving, Southern California remains home to a hefty slice of the U.S. auto business.
Eight other Asia-based automakers have U.S. or North American headquarters in Los Angeles and Orange counties, including the two largest — Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.
Additionally, the U.S. headquarters of Ford Motor Co.'s import brands — Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover and Volvo — are in Irvine, and almost every automaker selling in the U.S. market has an advanced design studio in Southern California.
Nissan is expected to leave its North American design center and about 100 designers and engineers in La Jolla.
Disgruntled employees loath to move from Southern California to a region that refers to itself as the "buckle on the Bible Belt" had been lobbying for months to stop the relocation.
Word of the then-secret relocation study was first reported by The Times in September.
Insiders have said that Nissan expects as many as 1,000 of its 1,300 headquarters staff to resign rather than relocate. Many have been job hunting for weeks, inundating other Southern California automakers and consulting firms with resumes.
Credit: LA Times
The Japanese automaker is expected to announce today that it will move its main U.S. office from Gardena to Nashville.
By John O'Dell, Times Staff Writer
After nearly half a century of calling Southern California home, Nissan North America is preparing to call it quits.
The company is scheduled to announce in Nashville today that it will relocate its corporate headquarters and 1,300 jobs from Gardena to a growing automotive center in central Tennessee. Nissan already has more than 6,500 employees at its largest U.S. assembly plant in the Nashville suburb of Smyrna.
Company representatives declined to comment, but Associated Press reported late Wednesday that Tennessee state Rep. Glen Casada had confirmed that the announcement was to be made jointly by Gov. Phil Bredesen and top Nissan executives at a news conference in the state Capitol. Neither Casada nor Bredesen could be reached for comment.
Separately, a Nashville-area real estate industry insider, who asked not to be identified for fear of jeopardizing his job, told The Times late Wednesday that a major regional developer, Crescent Resources, planned to announce today that it had signed Nissan to an office leasing deal.
Representatives of Charlotte, N.C.-based Crescent could not be reached. The company is developing a 1-million-square-foot office complex called Cool Springs in Tennessee's fast-growing Williamson County, 15 miles south of Nashville and about the same distance from Nissan's manufacturing headquarters in Smyrna.
The Times also obtained a copy of an e-mail sent to employees in Gardena late Wednesday, notifying them of an important announcement from Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn to be broadcast on the company's internal television system at 9 this morning.
Ghosn heads the Japanese automaker's North American Management Council, which ended a three-day meeting in Hilton Head, S.C., on Wednesday and was expected to reach a decision on whether to relocate.
The move, which is not expected to take place before next summer, could hurt the ability of economic development groups to woo new business to Southern California.
"It is always painful to lose an important corporation," said Jack Kyser, senior economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. His group was part of a multi-agency team that tried to persuade Nissan to stay. The company began its U.S. operations in Los Angeles in 1958.
"We have more than 4 million nonfarm jobs in Los Angeles County, so it's not going to throw the economy into a tailspin," Kyser said.
"But they are very highly paid jobs," he said, referring to the affected Nissan positions. "And the loss of a corporate headquarters is something that other states will be able to use against us" in recruiting businesses.
The relocation has long been anticipated — a study of the benefits of moving to the Nashville area was begun nearly a year ago after Ghosn launched a global effort to reduce administrative and operating expenses.
Nissan would find it economical to move because wages and the cost of fringe benefits in the Nashville area are lower than in Southern California, where housing and other costs are much greater than in the South, relocation specialists said.
Additionally, Nissan would probably save on office and utility costs and could reduce overall employment by combining many of its headquarters' administrative and support jobs with similar positions at its manufacturing headquarters about 20 miles southeast of Nashville.
Relocating would place the company's North American headquarters near its principal operations: the Smyrna assembly plant, a 1,300-employee engine plant in Decherd, Tenn., and a 4,100-employee truck and minivan plant in Canton, Miss.
Although Nissan may be leaving, Southern California remains home to a hefty slice of the U.S. auto business.
Eight other Asia-based automakers have U.S. or North American headquarters in Los Angeles and Orange counties, including the two largest — Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.
Additionally, the U.S. headquarters of Ford Motor Co.'s import brands — Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover and Volvo — are in Irvine, and almost every automaker selling in the U.S. market has an advanced design studio in Southern California.
Nissan is expected to leave its North American design center and about 100 designers and engineers in La Jolla.
Disgruntled employees loath to move from Southern California to a region that refers to itself as the "buckle on the Bible Belt" had been lobbying for months to stop the relocation.
Word of the then-secret relocation study was first reported by The Times in September.
Insiders have said that Nissan expects as many as 1,000 of its 1,300 headquarters staff to resign rather than relocate. Many have been job hunting for weeks, inundating other Southern California automakers and consulting firms with resumes.
Credit: LA Times
11-10-05, 06:23 AM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
You probably won't agree with this, flip, being a SoCal guy, but I think it's a good move relocating to TN....nearer the plants. IMO too much of the auto industry headquarters is centered in the Detroit and L.A. areas. While it is true that SoCal is the center of large parts of the country's auto culture ( especially the tuning and aftermarket culture ), most of the newer plants are opening up in the Southern states, and Washington D.C. is where the industry regulations come from and where the Federal Automotive organizations are ...such as Center for Auto Safety, DOT, NHTSA, IIHS, etc......
11-10-05, 07:51 AM
#4
Lexus Champion
Originally Posted by mmarshall
You probably won't agree with this, flip, being a SoCal guy, but I think it's a good move relocating to TN....nearer the plants. IMO too much of the auto industry headquarters is centered in the Detroit and L.A. areas. While it is true that SoCal is the center of large parts of the country's auto culture ( especially the tuning and aftermarket culture ), most of the newer plants are opening up in the Southern states, and Washington D.C. is where the industry regulations come from and where the Federal Automotive organizations are ...such as Center for Auto Safety, DOT, NHTSA, IIHS, etc......
11-10-05, 12:33 PM
#7
Interesting move for Nissan...Personally I think it is a bad move. Financially it may look good initially, but there is a HUGE lack of skilled labor in Tenn. I have a friend on the inside at Nissan that stated that they could not even hire entry level (non-manufacturing) positions in Tenn. because of a lack of talent. Very, very few insiders are going to move with the company and those that do are going to be senior managers and above only...hence nobody that actually does the work. It will be at least 2-3 years before Nissan recovers from the move.
They state that they are keeping the design studio in La Jolla...and I imagine that they will also keep the port operations and dist. centers as well since you can't move that completely to Tenn.
I bet your gonna see Honda and Toyota infused with extra talent now...
They state that they are keeping the design studio in La Jolla...and I imagine that they will also keep the port operations and dist. centers as well since you can't move that completely to Tenn.
I bet your gonna see Honda and Toyota infused with extra talent now...
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11-10-05, 12:45 PM
#8
Originally Posted by KVA
Interesting move for Nissan...Personally I think it is a bad move. Financially it may look good initially, but there is a HUGE lack of skilled labor in Tenn. I have a friend on the inside at Nissan that stated that they could not even hire entry level (non-manufacturing) positions in Tenn. because of a lack of talent. Very, very few insiders are going to move with the company and those that do are going to be senior managers and above only...hence nobody that actually does the work. It will be at least 2-3 years before Nissan recovers from the move.
They state that they are keeping the design studio in La Jolla...and I imagine that they will also keep the port operations and dist. centers as well since you can't move that completely to Tenn.
I bet your gonna see Honda and Toyota infused with extra talent now...
They state that they are keeping the design studio in La Jolla...and I imagine that they will also keep the port operations and dist. centers as well since you can't move that completely to Tenn.
I bet your gonna see Honda and Toyota infused with extra talent now...
11-10-05, 01:07 PM
#9
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That's a valid concern, but it might turn out that they take a lot of skilled labor with them. When the company I work for opened an office up here (main office is in SF) they asked for 81 "volunteers", and they actually got close to 70. I'm not saying 1200 employees are going to move from SoCal to TN, but who knows, some of the important folks might.
11-10-05, 01:13 PM
#10
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I agree that that is a valid concern, but I don't think it's that big a deal. Contrary to popular opinion, California isn't the only place that has smart people. 
There will be plenty of qualified people from the DC area and even the Northeast who would be willing to move down to Tennessee if given the opportunity.
There will be plenty of qualified people from the DC area and even the Northeast who would be willing to move down to Tennessee if given the opportunity.
11-10-05, 01:54 PM
#11
Keeper of the light
iTrader: (17)
In 20 years everything will be on the east coast. When the crunch of expansion and rising costs cripple top companies, they'll go somewhere cheaper. The country will flip sides within 20 years, taking industrial east and give Cali to the movie stars. 
11-10-05, 03:36 PM
#12
Out of Warranty
Once in a while the promise of a nice lifestyle overcomes basic good sense. Southern California is undeniably beautiful, posessed of the nation's best climate, and it's geography puts ski slopes, desert, beach, and even forests within easy driving range. The downside of this is that too many people know about it.
California start-ups and Asian companies often establish large manufacturing facilities amid some of the highest real estate cost, highest taxed, and most highly-paid workforce in the nation. As they have discovered, that doesn't make economic sense when payroll and taxes can be cut as much as 30% by moving much of the company to the great plains or the south. That's no way to be competitve in a global market.
I once worked for a heavy manufacturing company whose chairman bought acreage in the wine country to move the plant out of Orange County. He thought it would be nice if the employees could ride their horses to work every day . . . .
No, they didn't wrap him in wet sheets and carry him away, he was simply a "flower child" who had to have one foot nailed to the floor to keep his imagination from carrying him away . . . but at least he did well on the resale of the property. Lucky though, the neighbors probably wouldn't have appreciated his bringing in heavy industry. This is the same guy that bought property near Oceanside at the back door of the artillery range at Pendelton. The location was on a hilltop with an ocean view . . . well, from the second floor, maybe .. . if you used a little imagination. Because there was no rail service, I wanted to invest in a brake shop at the bottom of the 5-mile winding road that would be frequented by all those 80,000 lb flatbed truck loads coming downhill every day.
Thank God it was the family business - and other family members were there to save the company from his "great ideas".
California start-ups and Asian companies often establish large manufacturing facilities amid some of the highest real estate cost, highest taxed, and most highly-paid workforce in the nation. As they have discovered, that doesn't make economic sense when payroll and taxes can be cut as much as 30% by moving much of the company to the great plains or the south. That's no way to be competitve in a global market.
I once worked for a heavy manufacturing company whose chairman bought acreage in the wine country to move the plant out of Orange County. He thought it would be nice if the employees could ride their horses to work every day . . . .
No, they didn't wrap him in wet sheets and carry him away, he was simply a "flower child" who had to have one foot nailed to the floor to keep his imagination from carrying him away . . . but at least he did well on the resale of the property. Lucky though, the neighbors probably wouldn't have appreciated his bringing in heavy industry. This is the same guy that bought property near Oceanside at the back door of the artillery range at Pendelton. The location was on a hilltop with an ocean view . . . well, from the second floor, maybe .. . if you used a little imagination. Because there was no rail service, I wanted to invest in a brake shop at the bottom of the 5-mile winding road that would be frequented by all those 80,000 lb flatbed truck loads coming downhill every day.
Thank God it was the family business - and other family members were there to save the company from his "great ideas".
11-10-05, 10:16 PM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
California is a hive of car activity, and because incomes and other costs are so high while car costs are the same as anywhere else, many there can afford decent cars.
With Nissan keeping the design center there they can still keep their finger on that 'pulse' without having to pay a premium for the corporate operations and headquarters.
This will be a difficult transition for Nissan though (GIANT cultural issues) and as the article said, most probably won't relocate to a place with no beaches, no skiing, no traffic.
California is a wonderful place though (wish I lived there sometimes) but the state government has made it an extremely expensive place to do business.
With Nissan keeping the design center there they can still keep their finger on that 'pulse' without having to pay a premium for the corporate operations and headquarters.
This will be a difficult transition for Nissan though (GIANT cultural issues) and as the article said, most probably won't relocate to a place with no beaches, no skiing, no traffic.
California is a wonderful place though (wish I lived there sometimes) but the state government has made it an extremely expensive place to do business.
11-11-05, 06:43 AM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by Lil4X
Once in a while the promise of a nice lifestyle overcomes basic good sense. Southern California is undeniably beautiful, posessed of the nation's best climate, and it's geography puts ski slopes, desert, beach, and even forests within easy driving range. The downside of this is that too many people know about it.
:
:
And...just to show I'm not just taking shots here......our own D.C area also has plusses and minuses....some of the worst minuses, like SoCal's, being crowds, huge suburban sprawl, high living costs, and excessive traffic, but to a somewhat lesser extent.....and of course the famous East Coast miserable summer humidity.
Last edited by mmarshall; 11-11-05 at 06:49 AM.
11-11-05, 06:48 AM
#15
Guest
Posts: n/a
Having moved from NY to the South, the cultural difference is huge. I am sure its around the same for someone from Southern Cali to TN. Its just huge and don't you think if cost of living was the best reason to move, well, no one would be in Cali.
Cali has proven to be the American car capital, its no longer Detroit. Some great products have come out of the Cali studios.
Nissan's move to Mississippi, another cost cutting move, may have gave them tons of profit at the expense of some of the worst quality vehicles to be sold today.
It lets you know a companies priorites, which for them, is bottom line only. They are not concened with being the best or building a world-class product. Only saving money and giving shareholders top return.
I hope these cost cutting clowns don't come to Toyota and think that is the way of that company.
Cali has proven to be the American car capital, its no longer Detroit. Some great products have come out of the Cali studios.
Nissan's move to Mississippi, another cost cutting move, may have gave them tons of profit at the expense of some of the worst quality vehicles to be sold today.
It lets you know a companies priorites, which for them, is bottom line only. They are not concened with being the best or building a world-class product. Only saving money and giving shareholders top return.
I hope these cost cutting clowns don't come to Toyota and think that is the way of that company.