Nissan announces layoff of 20,000 workers
 

Nissan to Cut 20,000 Jobs - NYTimes.com

Nissan Layoffs: 20,000 Jobs Bite the Dust | Business Pundit

Ouch. I hope they don't start cutting major corners with future iterations of their cars in an effort to cut costs. It wouldn't surprise me if they did, though.

This is not good.

Nope, not good at all. I remember way back in 1994 I wanted to buy a Maxima. Then in 1995 they replaced the independent rear suspension with a solid beam in the name of cutting costs. I kicked myself hard. I hope they don't do something similar to our beloved Z! Anyone sitting on the fence wanting to wait until the next model year for minor bugs to be worked out -- you might want to reconsider that strategy! It would be awful to wait for the '10 model, only to discover that they've taken away a bunch of stuff to cut costs.

did you hear about the Layoffs in Barcelona......the workers started to throw things at the HQ building..... with Bandannas on......they were super pissed off.....

Cost Cutting
 

Gang,

I bought a 08 Toyota "X-Runner" a year ago last November. This sport truck is a limited build vehicle for Toyota. They announced in late December 08 that due to cost restraints they were suspending production of this vehicle until further notice. No date was set for resuming at that time. So what does this say for Nissan and our beloved "Z's"?????? For those of us that wait and don't buy what is out there now???? Are we going to be able to order what we want when we want it???? These are questions that I am sure even the Dealers can't answer. Stand by, this down turn is only going to get worse.

BTW, A quick history lesson. The market crashed in October 1929 from a then high of 333 points. Any one want to guess when it was that the market returned to that 333 point?? 1954

If this causes Nissan to inhibit production of the Z, then buying at invoice is not going to be likely in the future. Honestly, waiting for the 2010 model doesn't make sense anyway. I really don't think the differences between the '09 and '10 are going to be drastic enough to warrant waiting... Especially if Nissan does pull a Toyota and ceases production indefinitely. :ugh2:

Nissan isn't going to stop production of the z, they make money on every z sold. They spent a lot of money designing the z and they will get their money back but that is only going to happen if they continue to sell every fm car, g, z, fx, etc. I'm still waiting for the bugs to be worked out before i get my z.

^^ Maybe it'll work out that way. Let us pray.

Nissan has already done the engineering investment on the Z. To take stuff out would require further engineering investment, which wouldn't make for good ROI. These cars just started rolling off the production line, they need to sell them to make money. The Z has been one of the bright spots for Nissan, they need it to be a hot seller.

The most likely thing to happen is that Nissan will slow production to keep dealer inventory low. So the chances for a glut of left over '09s maybe less.

I'm not worried that they'll stop making the Z. I am worried, however, that they might start 'de-contenting' the Z in future model years, like what they did to the Maxima back in '95.

the job cuts will be phased out over a period of a year.


"Of the job cuts, 12,000 will be in Japan, and the rest will be overseas, it said. The company did not give a further regional breakdown. "

"As one key step in response to the dismal results, Ghosn said Nissan's global work force will be reduced by 20,000 through March 2010, to 215,000 from 235,000."

You mean you don't want a sold rear axel in your Z? :P

just read that too.
lot of job cuts...
maybe i should just pick one up now...hmmm

Here is the latest news on Nissan cutting jobs:
__________________________________________________
Nissan Says No More U.S. Job Cuts
By Dan Strumpf, AP Auto Writer
Manufacturing.Net - February 09, 2009






NEW YORK (AP) -- Nissan said Monday it does not expect more job cuts in the U.S. following its announcement of 20,000 cuts worldwide.

"We don't anticipate that you'll see further extensive job actions as part of that 20,000, because we've already made those job actions in the U.S.," said Alan Buddendeck, vice president of corporate communications for Nissan North America.

On Monday, Nissan Motor Co. in Tokyo said it expected a 265 billion yen ($2.9 billion) loss for the fiscal year ending in March, and said it planned to cut 20,000 jobs worldwide, or 8.5 percent of its 235,000-strong global work force, by March 2010.

Some 12,000 of the job cuts will be in Japan, including group companies, and the rest will be overseas, the company said.

Buddendeck said recent job cuts at Nissan's U.S. operations have already been factored into the global target and no other major announcements are planned.

Last July, Nissan said it would offer buyouts to about 6,000 employees at its plants in Smyrna and Decherd, Tenn., with the aim of cutting 1,200 jobs. The Smyrna plant manufactures pickups, sport utility vehicles and the Altima sedan, while the Decherd facility makes engines for all the Nissan and Infiniti vehicles produced in the U.S.

At the time, Nissan attributed the cuts to surging fuel prices and plummeting demand for trucks and SUVs. Since then, vehicle demand in the U.S. has collapsed across the board, with pickup sales continuing to fall due to the slowdown in housing construction. Last week, Nissan said its U.S. sales in January fell 30 percent. Industrywide sales fell 37 percent.

In November, Nissan said it met its job reduction goals at the two plants. Then in January, the company said it planned to cut 110 white-collar jobs and close four regional sales offices in the U.S. in a restructuring move designed to improve service to dealers.

Nissan spokesman Fred Standish said the company employs between 13,000 and 14,000 people in the U.S.

The company also confirmed on Monday that it had submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Energy for a portion of the $25 billion loan program. The program was designed to help automakers retool their plants to build more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Standish said the automaker submitted its application on Dec. 22 and said it was still in the application process. He said its Smyrna plant, built in 1983, is the only one of Nissan's three plants in the U.S. that would meet the loan's criteria.

The Energy Department has received more than 70 applications for the loan program, including requests from Detroit's automakers, Tesla Motors Inc., which builds an all-electric two-seat sports car, and several battery manufacturers.

Energy spokesman Dan Leistikow said Secretary Steven Chu hoped to provide some of the loan funding "within the next two months."

Honda Motor Co. spokesman Ed Miller said the automaker has no plans to apply for the loan. Toyota did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

U.S.-traded shares of Nissan on Monday fell 24 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $5.97 in afternoon trading.

NISSAN DIVISION
January January Monthly CYTD CYTD CYTD
2009 2008 %chg 2009 2008 %chg

Frontier 1,603 4,064 -60.6 1,603 4,064 -60.6
Titan 1,458 3,692 -60.5 1,458 3,692 -60.5
Xterra 1,304 3,514 -62.9 1,304 3,514 -62.9
Pathfinder 1,547 2,933 -47.3 1,547 2,933 -47.3
Armada 717 1,677 -57.2 717 1,677 -57.2

Truck and SUV sales are down, a lot! But (I'm guessing) that was because of the price of gasoline when it was 4 dollars a gallon.
Nissan is asking for bailout money,that has surprised me! I think discontinuing the Armada would be a good idea.