Nissan downsizing US headquarters

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MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: Today Nissan moves its North American headquarters from California to Tennessee. It will also drop nearly a quarter of its white collar employees from the payroll. The company says downsizing will make it more efficient. Critics say phooey. Janet Babin has more.

JANET BABIN: What’s telling about Nissan’s move is who’s not coming: Nearly six in 10 California-based employees declined.

But the company says it’s received 40,000 applications from people eager to take their place in the streamlined staff.

Peter DeLorenzo says Nissan’s move, and the job cuts, are about saving money not improving efficiency. He publishes Autoextremist.com.

PETER DELORENZO: The bottom line is, literally 70 percent of the people who were responsible for Nissan’s product renaissance are not going to be with the company in Nashville.

DeLorenzo says Nissan’s culture was rooted in California. And he predicts the move will hurt the company’s upcoming product launches.

I’m Janet Babin for Marketplace.