Nissan adds 800 employees in Tennessee manufacturing

At a luncheon today, Nissan Americas Vice Chairman Bill Krueger and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced that an additional 810 new jobs will be added to the company's Tennessee manufacturing operations in support of Nissan's rapid growth and demand.

The new workforce will be added to a recently-enacted third shift at the Smyrna Assembly Plant. Since the beginning of a Nissan-Tennessee partnership in 2011, more than 2,000 manufacturing jobs have been added to meet the company's growing manufacturing needs.

By 2015, Nissan plans to have 85 percent of its products sold in North America being built here as well - including an 85% goal for U.S. sales vs. manufacturing. This includes their luxury brand, Infiniti. Nissan calls this their localized core-model production plan and it is something they've been working towards globally in order to cut costs on several fronts, including very expensive transportation and delivery from overseas.

"Nissan and Tennessee have enjoyed a long and successful partnership for more than 30 years, and this announcement shows the strength of the company and the market demand for its products," Haslam said. "Nissan and our existing industries are very important to the state's economy and the citizens they employ, and I want to congratulate and thank Nissan on today's announcement and the new jobs it means for Tennessee."

The Smyrna plant opened in 1983 and began production of some of Nissan's popular sedans. The plant currently has an annual production capacity of 550,000 and represents a capital investment of $2.5 billion. Right now, the plant produces the Nissan Altima, Maxima, Pathfinder and Infiniti JX. Later this year, it will also build the all-electric Leaf as well as the batteries that power it. Next year, it will add the next-generation Rogue. The plant now employs more than 6,000 Americans.