Nissan Motor Co. reportedly said it would outsource about 150 office jobs in Smyrna, Tennessee, to India as part of the company’s effort to cut costs.
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Fred Standish, corporate communications director for Nissan North America, told the Associated Press (AP) that the automaker is turning over some of its “non-core” tasks at its Smyrna assembly plant to a business unit of GE Capital International Services, which will handle the work in India.
“The functions that were done here will be done over there,” he told AP. “It should be transparent to all of our customers.”
Standish told the news agency the move is part of an ongoing cost-cutting effort and will affect about 150 Nissan employees and contract workers in the United States.
The Associated Press noted that Nissan employs 17,000 people in the United States, including 7,100 in Smyrna and an engine manufacturing plant in nearby Decherd.
The company started moving some of the work to India in January, and Standish told AP it could take several more months before the software and other support systems are in place for the work to be completely outsourced to GE Capital.
“It’s in a variety of operations around the country,” he reportedly said. “It’s not focused on one area or another.”
According to AP, Standish declined to say what jobs are affected, but he did say they are not related to the company’s core business of designing, building and selling vehicles.
“These are not production jobs on the line,” he reportedly said. “They’re not engineering jobs. That’s the core business.”
The Associated Press said not all the 150 people will be laid off when the work is turned over to GE. Standish reportedly said the company is trying to locate jobs for the employees in other departments.
For those who don’t find work with Nissan, the company will offer a severance package that includes extended health care benefits, help in job searches and bonuses for staying through a transition period.
“We’re not going to say, `Hey, thanks a lot,’ and push them out of the door,” Standish told the Associated Press, adding: “We’re not that kind of a company.”
