Nissan Slows Production Indefinitely at Two U.S. Plants

With dismal automotive sales in mind, Nissan will continue operating its two U.S. assembly plants on four-day weeks indefinitely.

All production lines at the plants in Smyrna, Tenn. and Canton, Miss. have been on the four-day schedule since October to reduce rising vehicle inventories. In December 2008, Nissan announced it planned to drop production by another 78,000 units and dismiss 500 temporary workers.

Incidentally, the Canton plant was recently recognized by the Mississippi Development Authority for reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

According to Automotive News, a Nissan spokesperson says the shorter work schedule will be used for the foreseeable future. Nissan is, of course, not alone in slowing U.S. production. A spokesperson at Toyota's U.S. manufacturing headquarters confirmed that the automaker might reduce the number of production days during the first quarter of this year.

Source: Nissan and Automotive News (Subscription required)