Star One Smart Blog's

Here in Smyrna, some big news....Nissan North America (formerly Datsun, Japan) has announced some layoffs.

"Nissan's decision to eliminate 255 jobs, including those held by 17 people who moved with the company from Southern California to Middle Tennessee last summer, signals it is willing to make cuts — even if it means antagonizing employees in the short term."

While I, personally, will be unaffected by these cuts, there is some community backlash. We are used to hearing of troubles from the Saturn folks at Spring Hill, but that's a different worldview. Nissan has pretty much kept some stability about themselves (well, since figuring out how to make metal less pliable...)

"It's certainly not a very good way to generate good will toward people you've just relocated..."

Hmmm, no foolin'! You drag these poor folks from their comfortably SoCal existance, to Middle Tennessee, where they already look at locals as if they had three heads (some do) and there is this red state thing as well...then, when they find that they can buy a McMansion for what, in SoCal, was practically a hamster box...now, with that Executive Wage yanked out from under them, they will have to survey the Local wage scene...guess what? There is not a similiar pay scale to be found, to meet their expectations.

"Personnel and operational changes made in a hurry generally backfire," [Jim Hossack of AutoPacific, a Tustin, Calif.-based consultant] "You have to be certain — not confident — certain that all these things are going to work for you before you make this change."

In totally unrelated news, the Datsuns imported in the '70's make up some 97% of the recycled materials re-used daily, in metallic toothpast tubes, worldwide...