Nashville on List for Nissan Relocation

Corporate headquarters relocation experts say Tennessee has a lot to offer a company looking for a new home while state officials remain tightlipped about a report Nissan Motor Co. may move its North American headquarters from California to Tennessee or Texas.

The Japanese automaker is considering locations near where it already has operations in order to save money, according to a published report last week in the Los Angeles Times, which cited unnamed sources inside and outside the company.

The nearly 1,300 people employed at Nissan's Los Angeles-area headquarters work in management, marketing, advertising, sales and distribution and dealership development for North America.

Nissan is studying consolidating the offices with its U.S. manufacturing headquarters in Smyrna the newspaper reported. The Smyrna plant has 6,500 employees and is located about 20 miles southeast of Nashville. The company also has an engine plant in Decherd, Tenn., that employs about 1,300.

Corporate headquarters relocation experts say Tennessee has a lot to offer a company looking for a new home while state officials remain tightlipped about a report Nissan Motor Co. may move its North American headquarters from California to Tennessee or Texas.

The Japanese automaker is considering locations near where it already has operations in order to save money, according to a published report last week in the Los Angeles Times, which cited unnamed sources inside and outside the company.

The nearly 1,300 people employed at Nissan's Los Angeles-area headquarters work in management, marketing, advertising, sales and distribution and dealership development for North America.

Nissan is studying consolidating the offices with its U.S. manufacturing headquarters in Smyrna the newspaper reported. The Smyrna plant has 6,500 employees and is located about 20 miles southeast of Nashville. The company also has an engine plant in Decherd, Tenn., that employs about 1,300.

Another option being looked at is a move to Dallas, the newspaper reported, where Nissan employs about 800 people in a finance operations center.

Nissan North America spokeswoman Julie Lawless told The Associated Press the company "can't comment on future business decisions. It's just speculation at this point."

Tennessee economic development officials are similarly mum: "Basically we don't talk about any prospects until an official announcement is made," said Dawn Rutledge Jones, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

A move to Nashville would also bring Nissan closer to the bulk of its North American operations - the Smyrna and Decherd facilities and a plant in Canton, Miss.

The Nashville region may also look particularly enticing because of its favorable tax incentives, low cost of living and quality work force, Krizner added. The city has recently landed corporate headquarters relocations by pharmaceutical benefits manager CareMark and building products company Louisiana-Pacific.

Nissan's plant in Smyrna was built in 1980 as the company's first factory outside Japan. Altima and Maxima cars, Xterra and Pathfinder sports utility vehicles and Frontier pickups are manufactured there.

In June the company announced it would produce its first more fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle at the plant, which is one of the top North American vehicle assembly plants in terms of productivity.

If Nissan moved to Tennessee, some officials say the company would likely end up in Williamson County or Rutherford County - where the Smyrna plant is located. The suburban Nashville counties have some of the region's most affordable office space and large tracts of land for development

"I've heard that they may be looking at Williamson County," said Mark O'Neal, Smyrna town manager, who said he had not been in contact with Nissan about relocation plans. "Of course, I would like for them to relocate in Smyrna."

Jay Johnson, manager of the city of Franklin in Williamson County, said he also had not spoken to Nissan officials.

Several times this year, however, the state has sought demographic, tax and other information from Franklin on behalf of outside businesses looking to expand in the area, Johnson said.

"We had no special knowledge of who any of companies might be, and we still don't," Johnson said. "We never ask specifics and they (state) never share. I think it's logical any company that looks at Middle Tennessee will look at Rutherford or Williamson County."