Trexus

And cost cutting can only take you so far. Just as you said in the end, it's going to come down to a great product. You are going to want repeat and loyal customers, so if you can make a damn good, reliable, desirable and decent quality product, that's what it boils down to in my opinion.

Gojirra99

Washington DC April 3, 2006; The AIADA newsletter reported that about 80 percent of the high level managers at Nissan North America will make the 2,000 mile move from the company's current headquarters in Gardena, Calif., to its new one in Nashville, Tenn.

The Japanese automaker gave employees until last week to decide whether they would make the move, reported Detroit Free Press.

Approximately half of the North American headquarters staff of 1,300 has decided not to make the move to Tennessee, largely citing personal reasons.

Nissan announced the move in November, and expects to complete the transition by July. The company chose Nashville in order to be close to its production base in Tennessee and to cut costs.

Although some have expressed doubts about Nissan's ability to recruit talent in Tennessee, more than 12,000 applications have come in from outside applicants. "We're a strong company, and frankly there are a lot of people that want to work for Nissan," said Fred Standish, NNA's Director of Corporate Communications.

"Doing it now, from a time of strength, rather than some other time when we were weaker, makes a lot more sense."

source : theautochannel

spwolf

only half, thats good. lol.

mmarshall

Tough issue here.....I'm not going to take sides either way. There is no doubt that the L.A. area is the center of the country's car culture, but it is also true that the skyrocking costs of living and doing buisness in SoCal is impacting more and more people and firms. I see both good and bad no matter what Nissan does...if they stay or leave.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Ah so that was the headquarter. I passed there a few time before, but it kinda looks small for a headquarter.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I predict this will be good for Nissan in the long run, although difficult. SoCal is just too expensive to have a giant corporate headquarters especially when you main plants are on the other side of the continent.

Losing good people is tough, but so is paying giant bills to be in that area.

Those people moving to "the boonies" will enjoy breathing clean air, not sitting for hours on 405, lower taxes, fewer gangs, crime, and great real estate prices not built on earthquake faults.

Like NY, I *love* to visit SoCal (and NorCal) though, but there's pros and cons to everywhere.

Corey140

Wouldn't SoCal make the most sense since its the most direct route to Japan from the states?

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

For flights? You can fly from Chicago to Tokyo for example (or used to be able to when I did it).

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

thats good that a majority of the high management is going to move, and half of the HQ staff is moving as well, i was expecting it to be lower

J.P.

Coming from someone who does a majority of their business in California, I don’t think they are making a mistake.

Some things to think about.

1. Detroit has a massive cache of automotive talent. Getting them to go to TN is far easier then getting them to go to Cali.
2. We move dozens of people from all over North America to Socal every year. Have you ever tried to get someone who is making $75,000 in Texas to go to Socal for equal or even sometimes less money for the same position?
3. The top of the top want such huge salary increases, you cannot get them unless you want to spend big $$$. People will not give up their 3 acre 3000sqft home to spend twice as much and have a basic 2000sqft home with no land.
4. The people who you do get to move are out of work or in that bottom tier, so you’re getting a “warm body” rather then someone who is top draw.


In the long run they will spend less on salaries and be able to still afford the “good” people……..

LexFather

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...SS01/606160393

Nissan Unveils New HQ Design

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

Old thread but didn't see it before. I know people from Tennessee. If they're the ones who'll build future Nissans, better get one now. JK

Nothing wrong with Tenn. I'm sure Nissan will find competent staff. Might be better off. I know it's risky to mess with a good thing but some things could be better. How do we know the people leaving weren't the ones responsible for the Nissan cheap interiors. What about the tire feathering problems of the Z and G's. What about the axle problems of the G. You never know, change can be good.

Hypnotik

That could be true. But the G and Z and 100% japan made

videcormeum

+1

For those of you who have evaluated Tennessee to be the armpit of America you've obviously never visited Tennessee. Nashville is a nice city and it is just as cosmopolitan as any other medium sized city in America - if not more so.

That said, in the short term Nissan is going to feel the heat while they re-establish their headquarters - and it will burn them and they'll adapt and get over it; don't forget that Nissan has had slumps before and they're still very much around.

I agree with Bit - in the long run, I don't see this as being a terrible move. In Tennessee they're more central to the Southeast where they've located their Canton, Mississippi assembly plant.

M.

mmarshall

I posted earlier that there is, of course, both good and bad to leaving L.A., but generally I agree with bit. SoCal is a great place to be for some things, no doubt, but in other things it has been overhyped. Real estate, living costs, and traffic jams have all gotten out of control.....and there is the ever-present threat of major earthquakes that could easily bring down a multi-story corporate headquarters. The traffic has gotten to be the worst in the country.....employees need to be able to get to work without spending hours in traffic jams.

And.....all you So Cal people like Henry, Liz, Flip, etc...I'm not just picking on you or bad-mouthing your home either. We have some of the same problems here in the DC area ......especially traffic and real estate. In traffic density overall we trail only California.....and a few major major interchanges here rival those of Los Angeles.

It does make sense for Nissan to be HQ in TN. Two of its major plants are nearby....at Smyrna, TN and at Canton, MS. The Canton plant......no secret.....has had a number of problems, and these can probably be dealt with quicker and easier by a HQ that is a couple hours away instead of over 2000 miles. And, while this part of the country does get tornadoes, severe storms, and large hail that can damage vehicles, the amount of damage that this type of weather will do is much less than that of a large earthquake.