Could the future of Nissan/Infinity be at stake?
12-25-2006, 08:21 PM
#1
Could the future of Nissan/Infinity be at stake?
Found this interesting article on freshalloy.com, thought I'd share it. Here is a link to the source.
http://www.freshalloy.com/site/featu...02/default.asp
Well, you hear the rumors, but you can choose to believe them or not. Carlos Ghosn going to GM? Or at least meeting them in Paris to discuss ‘partnership’? GM and Ford getting together with Nissan? Two car companies in trouble and here comes Carlos to save the day. Not so fast you say? True enough, Carlos convinced Japan to give him unilateral power to ‘save’ the company. His first great quote, “….The is no car company problem that can’t be solved with great product…” came as he surrounded himself with some great people and they produced great product.
Now that things are heating up – the latest Ghosn quote seems to be a 180 from the previous one. “…There is no car company problem that can’t be solved by great management…” Well, let’s shed some light on this apparently new shift in paradigm. Great People – Nissan put a team together that wrung out everything they could get from the great ‘Z’ and put most likely another 10 years into the product. Just using the VQ engine platform in so many chassis’s was brilliant. The G35, the M and the FX were all show stoppers out of the gate and portend a lot of great things going forward. The personnel behind the design and production of these vehicles and these strategies need to be applauded for their insight. Yet, the culture of cost-cutting has resulted in the current mess with 4 cylinder Altimas and Sentras, a mess that is estimated to cost around $1 BILLION to fix. All because of alleged desire to save 30 cents on piston rings.
Cost cutting – “…There is no car problem that can’t be solved by great management…” Reducing costs was the primary reason given for moving Gardena to Nashville. But that move has turned into a disaster of epic proportions for NNA.
When news of the move leaked to the LA Times in September of last year, almost everybody stopped working on anything meaningful. Of course, obviously they must have started focusing on finding new jobs! Nothing against Nashville, but Southern California is car country. Uprooting families happens all the time, but people in Southern California just view it a little bit differently. Could it be that Nissan NNA deserves all the trouble they've gotten themselves into? Word on the street is they were not honest to begin with. The morning the rumor hit the LA Times the Corporate message was; "it’s just a rumor; no decision has been made" blah, blah, blah. Perhaps it was done so hurriedly that employees would not have enough time to find other jobs and would be forced to move?
The final attrition figures are nowhere near the 43% (or so) NNA spokespeople have been repeating. Their math factors in the fact that they only planned on bringing over 900 jobs; not the 1300 (or so) who were in Gardena the day the announcement was made a year ago. The real figures are 22% retention (actually a fraction higher.) This means that almost 78% of the NNA national headquarters staff has left the company and are now working elsewhere. Even Jed Connelly said he expected about 50% to not make the move. By the way, he is gone, Jack Collins is gone, Steve Wilhite is gone and if we have to tell you who they are – well it doesn’t matter because almost anyone and everyone who was responsible for ‘Great Products’ is no longer working for Nissan nor Infiniti.
(NOTE: Jack Collins informed employees in an official announcement meeting that Jim Morton’s own study showed that, on average, companies lose 50% of their employees when moving to a new state. That figure changes to 35% retention, or 65% lost when the state being left is California. In other words, Nissan NNA KNEW they would have a near-total wipe-out on their hands of the word got out. Which begs the question, is this why they were trying to keep it under wraps as long as they could.)
Some who moved to Nashville say “…it’s nearly impossible to get anything done since Ford/GM and Chrysler "camps" have been set-up and there aren't enough experienced NNA managers to tell anyone how things are supposed to get done. Furthermore, many of the talented people from Gardena are now working for Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki, others - and we have to assume, locked in their cerebellum, was vast, detailed knowledge of all of Nissan's future product plans going out many years. Do you think? The cost of this is staggering and will be felt by NNA for a decade or more.
The departure of some key people throughout the Nissan and Infiniti Product Planning teams cannot be replaced easily, no matter how good “the management” is. The entire Infiniti G35 team is gone, as is the core of the GT_R and new Flagship teams. In fact only 2-3 people remain from the entire Infiniti Product Planning team. Include the loss of the 350Z and NISMO management teams and you can predict for yourself where Nissan’s futures lies.
The Cross Car Line teams are almost completely destroyed; only 1 person from the team that handled interior cabin comfort and entertainment systems made the move. The small sedan and truck groups were all but completely wiped out. The whole Frontier/Xterra team is gone as well as the Sentra/Versa team. Where were Human Resources when all this was happening? Cost cutting at the expense of great product? We might add that the loyalty of Nissan enthusiasts rivals those of Ford, Toyota, Honda and Corvette, just to name a few.
Looking beyond just Product Planning, entire departments were almost completely wiped-out. Pricing strategy, Market Insight, Corporate Communications, Model Line Marketing and Corporate Training have been reduced so extensively that many of them were asked to stay on as contractors just to get vehicle launch work completed. Some departments endured a 95% attrition rate, and the departments who are considered to be largely intact lost “only” 50% - 60% of their employees. Nissan’s claims of 43% retention would be a disaster by any definition at any other company.
As for NNA touting the retention of some 80% of their top executives (now closer to 70% after some recent defections), we would have to assume that these people don’t actually know how to do the detailed, day-to-day work. They are not in the trenches where they would have to how to do a price-value comparison document against a competitor. They would have to know how to coordinate several suppliers and engineering groups to bring an accessory to market. They would have to know how to decide which features to include on a vehicle, or in which option package. Good management can be great if they have the resources to do the work.
Nissan’s global leadership needs to be held responsible for what they’ve done to the American business unit – where some 70% of global operating profits are made. Enthusiasts should be very concerned for their favorite brand because deciding to save a buck per engine was more important than making a great engine. And when people like Jim Morton put his young son, in his early 30s, as the head of the NNA finance department, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that “what’s best for Nissan” wasn’t the only thing driving the decision to move.
A shame, isn’t it? Because of this, to wait perhaps ‘till 2012 for some more great products. It will be very difficult for the next few years and there is little hope of them gaining any traction until 2012 model year (due to normal product development cycles.)
And right on the heels of the Nashville move and its ramifications, YTD sales thru August are negative on every model line except Frontier, Murano, and the ‘M’. And in the month of August alone, there are minus signs next to all of them except Sentra, Maxima, and Frontier and Murano! Should we then assume there will be more cost-cutting measures put in place?
Carlos Ghosn, Ghosn, gone? We think he sees the colossal mess he and his buddy Jim Morton have caused and he wants OUT before his reputation as a 1-trick cost-cutting pony is cemented in the minds of the auto industry insiders. Carlos, it’s the people that make great companies! It’s also, you’re loyal customers. The majority of Nissan and Infiniti enthusiasts would rather ‘fight than switch’. Now, we’re not so sure!
http://www.freshalloy.com/site/featu...02/default.asp
Well, you hear the rumors, but you can choose to believe them or not. Carlos Ghosn going to GM? Or at least meeting them in Paris to discuss ‘partnership’? GM and Ford getting together with Nissan? Two car companies in trouble and here comes Carlos to save the day. Not so fast you say? True enough, Carlos convinced Japan to give him unilateral power to ‘save’ the company. His first great quote, “….The is no car company problem that can’t be solved with great product…” came as he surrounded himself with some great people and they produced great product.
Now that things are heating up – the latest Ghosn quote seems to be a 180 from the previous one. “…There is no car company problem that can’t be solved by great management…” Well, let’s shed some light on this apparently new shift in paradigm. Great People – Nissan put a team together that wrung out everything they could get from the great ‘Z’ and put most likely another 10 years into the product. Just using the VQ engine platform in so many chassis’s was brilliant. The G35, the M and the FX were all show stoppers out of the gate and portend a lot of great things going forward. The personnel behind the design and production of these vehicles and these strategies need to be applauded for their insight. Yet, the culture of cost-cutting has resulted in the current mess with 4 cylinder Altimas and Sentras, a mess that is estimated to cost around $1 BILLION to fix. All because of alleged desire to save 30 cents on piston rings.
Cost cutting – “…There is no car problem that can’t be solved by great management…” Reducing costs was the primary reason given for moving Gardena to Nashville. But that move has turned into a disaster of epic proportions for NNA.
When news of the move leaked to the LA Times in September of last year, almost everybody stopped working on anything meaningful. Of course, obviously they must have started focusing on finding new jobs! Nothing against Nashville, but Southern California is car country. Uprooting families happens all the time, but people in Southern California just view it a little bit differently. Could it be that Nissan NNA deserves all the trouble they've gotten themselves into? Word on the street is they were not honest to begin with. The morning the rumor hit the LA Times the Corporate message was; "it’s just a rumor; no decision has been made" blah, blah, blah. Perhaps it was done so hurriedly that employees would not have enough time to find other jobs and would be forced to move?
The final attrition figures are nowhere near the 43% (or so) NNA spokespeople have been repeating. Their math factors in the fact that they only planned on bringing over 900 jobs; not the 1300 (or so) who were in Gardena the day the announcement was made a year ago. The real figures are 22% retention (actually a fraction higher.) This means that almost 78% of the NNA national headquarters staff has left the company and are now working elsewhere. Even Jed Connelly said he expected about 50% to not make the move. By the way, he is gone, Jack Collins is gone, Steve Wilhite is gone and if we have to tell you who they are – well it doesn’t matter because almost anyone and everyone who was responsible for ‘Great Products’ is no longer working for Nissan nor Infiniti.
(NOTE: Jack Collins informed employees in an official announcement meeting that Jim Morton’s own study showed that, on average, companies lose 50% of their employees when moving to a new state. That figure changes to 35% retention, or 65% lost when the state being left is California. In other words, Nissan NNA KNEW they would have a near-total wipe-out on their hands of the word got out. Which begs the question, is this why they were trying to keep it under wraps as long as they could.)
Some who moved to Nashville say “…it’s nearly impossible to get anything done since Ford/GM and Chrysler "camps" have been set-up and there aren't enough experienced NNA managers to tell anyone how things are supposed to get done. Furthermore, many of the talented people from Gardena are now working for Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki, others - and we have to assume, locked in their cerebellum, was vast, detailed knowledge of all of Nissan's future product plans going out many years. Do you think? The cost of this is staggering and will be felt by NNA for a decade or more.
The departure of some key people throughout the Nissan and Infiniti Product Planning teams cannot be replaced easily, no matter how good “the management” is. The entire Infiniti G35 team is gone, as is the core of the GT_R and new Flagship teams. In fact only 2-3 people remain from the entire Infiniti Product Planning team. Include the loss of the 350Z and NISMO management teams and you can predict for yourself where Nissan’s futures lies.
The Cross Car Line teams are almost completely destroyed; only 1 person from the team that handled interior cabin comfort and entertainment systems made the move. The small sedan and truck groups were all but completely wiped out. The whole Frontier/Xterra team is gone as well as the Sentra/Versa team. Where were Human Resources when all this was happening? Cost cutting at the expense of great product? We might add that the loyalty of Nissan enthusiasts rivals those of Ford, Toyota, Honda and Corvette, just to name a few.
Looking beyond just Product Planning, entire departments were almost completely wiped-out. Pricing strategy, Market Insight, Corporate Communications, Model Line Marketing and Corporate Training have been reduced so extensively that many of them were asked to stay on as contractors just to get vehicle launch work completed. Some departments endured a 95% attrition rate, and the departments who are considered to be largely intact lost “only” 50% - 60% of their employees. Nissan’s claims of 43% retention would be a disaster by any definition at any other company.
As for NNA touting the retention of some 80% of their top executives (now closer to 70% after some recent defections), we would have to assume that these people don’t actually know how to do the detailed, day-to-day work. They are not in the trenches where they would have to how to do a price-value comparison document against a competitor. They would have to know how to coordinate several suppliers and engineering groups to bring an accessory to market. They would have to know how to decide which features to include on a vehicle, or in which option package. Good management can be great if they have the resources to do the work.
Nissan’s global leadership needs to be held responsible for what they’ve done to the American business unit – where some 70% of global operating profits are made. Enthusiasts should be very concerned for their favorite brand because deciding to save a buck per engine was more important than making a great engine. And when people like Jim Morton put his young son, in his early 30s, as the head of the NNA finance department, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that “what’s best for Nissan” wasn’t the only thing driving the decision to move.
A shame, isn’t it? Because of this, to wait perhaps ‘till 2012 for some more great products. It will be very difficult for the next few years and there is little hope of them gaining any traction until 2012 model year (due to normal product development cycles.)
And right on the heels of the Nashville move and its ramifications, YTD sales thru August are negative on every model line except Frontier, Murano, and the ‘M’. And in the month of August alone, there are minus signs next to all of them except Sentra, Maxima, and Frontier and Murano! Should we then assume there will be more cost-cutting measures put in place?
Carlos Ghosn, Ghosn, gone? We think he sees the colossal mess he and his buddy Jim Morton have caused and he wants OUT before his reputation as a 1-trick cost-cutting pony is cemented in the minds of the auto industry insiders. Carlos, it’s the people that make great companies! It’s also, you’re loyal customers. The majority of Nissan and Infiniti enthusiasts would rather ‘fight than switch’. Now, we’re not so sure!
12-26-2006, 12:14 PM
#2
That would be pretty pimp. Since my old man works for GM i get a GM discount, I wouldnt mind buying the Nissan with his discount and maybe use some GM visa points to lower the price.
I'm down with that.
Kamski
I'm down with that.
Kamski
12-27-2006, 10:19 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: a meadow south of Atlanta
Posts: 8,143
The GM-Nissan thing was a long time coming. But when the Ford-Nissan thing fell through several years back, I suspected the hookup with GM would eventually happen. Still, when I read in Money magazine back in the summer that Nissan was moving its North American headquarters from Gardena to Nashville, I was very surprised, as well as concerned. That sort of move never goes well.
I remember (many years ago) when my company transferred me from Santa Monica to Montgomery AL. My family established the benchmark for crocodile tear measurement. We cried all the way across the country.
But Montgomery turned out to be a very pleasant place to live. Much better for families than the LA area. Slower pace. Safer. Very friendly and helpful neighbors. In fact, we liked the southeast so much that when the company tried to transfer me out of the southeast, I took a job with another company in order to stay down here.
But the Gardena folks will not know ahead that Nashville is a great place to live and raise a family. Most will make their decision without ever seeing Nashville. Both they and Nissan will be the worse for that.
The competition is so great that I expect to see more mergers between large auto companies. Those mergers will not always be to the advantage of the general public. I expect product quality to have bumps and bruises for a few years after each one.
I am approaching the thirty year mark of owning nothing but Datsun/Nissans, and will be very anxious to find out whether the majority of the decisions on the '09 Maxima (arriving in spring '08) were pretty much locked in before this huge Nissan NNA upheaveal. That could have major implications on my plans to buy an '09 in spring of '08.
I remember (many years ago) when my company transferred me from Santa Monica to Montgomery AL. My family established the benchmark for crocodile tear measurement. We cried all the way across the country.
But Montgomery turned out to be a very pleasant place to live. Much better for families than the LA area. Slower pace. Safer. Very friendly and helpful neighbors. In fact, we liked the southeast so much that when the company tried to transfer me out of the southeast, I took a job with another company in order to stay down here.
But the Gardena folks will not know ahead that Nashville is a great place to live and raise a family. Most will make their decision without ever seeing Nashville. Both they and Nissan will be the worse for that.
The competition is so great that I expect to see more mergers between large auto companies. Those mergers will not always be to the advantage of the general public. I expect product quality to have bumps and bruises for a few years after each one.
I am approaching the thirty year mark of owning nothing but Datsun/Nissans, and will be very anxious to find out whether the majority of the decisions on the '09 Maxima (arriving in spring '08) were pretty much locked in before this huge Nissan NNA upheaveal. That could have major implications on my plans to buy an '09 in spring of '08.
12-28-2006, 05:33 AM
#6
Light,
Same thing here. Job moved us from Temecula, Ca to Greenville, Sc. When the company folded 9 months later we found another job. We KNEW we weren't going back to Cally. The Southeast is definately the best place to raise a family in safety. The weather has more flavor/adventure than the weather in Cally. I love the southeast and won't go back.
I am curious what this will mean to Nissan's product. They have definately had some 'bumps and bruises' (4 cyl engines with recall). If Ghoshn was the one that pulled Nissan out of near disaster, imagine how nasty it would be if he condemned it because he wouldn't stop his cost cutting measures before it is/was too late. What a waste....
Swee
Same thing here. Job moved us from Temecula, Ca to Greenville, Sc. When the company folded 9 months later we found another job. We KNEW we weren't going back to Cally. The Southeast is definately the best place to raise a family in safety. The weather has more flavor/adventure than the weather in Cally. I love the southeast and won't go back.
I am curious what this will mean to Nissan's product. They have definately had some 'bumps and bruises' (4 cyl engines with recall). If Ghoshn was the one that pulled Nissan out of near disaster, imagine how nasty it would be if he condemned it because he wouldn't stop his cost cutting measures before it is/was too late. What a waste....
Swee
12-30-2006, 10:39 PM
#11
Supporting Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,307
I'm dumber for having read that editorial. Obviously it was written with the intention of being controversial, rather than factual, so as to drive up traffic and "buzz" for revenue and marketing purposes.
The editors claim that, "When news of the move leaked to the LA Times in September of last year, almost everybody stopped working on anything meaningful. Of course, obviously they must have started focusing on finding new jobs!" And of the people left, "we would have to assume that these people don’t actually know how to do the detailed, day-to-day work."
If everyone at a major international corporation like FedEx or Exxon was incompetent or stopped working, the whole world would know about it right away. What company out there can run for a whole year with no competent working employees and not show it?
Shoot, how many companies would even be open for business? Yet as an avid enthusiast, well-informed reader, and close follower of the industry, I haven't seen any hiccups from Nissan. It's been pretty much business as usual. Ghosn must be God.
OK, so for the sake of argument, assume the other divisions (Japan, Europe, etc) picked up the slack. What does it tell you about the necessity of NNA? Why even bother moving them to TN? Just close down the whole operation and save billions. Thanks FA for putting American jobs at risk. Fortunately, we don't have to worry about that because the editors are just full of BS. In fact, NNA is scheduled to add 700 jobs and already has 40,000 applications for a building that just started construction in June 2006 and won't be completed until mid-2008. And remember, Gardena is just 1 of 14 offices in North America. And it's the one full of hand wavers, bean counters, and paper pushers. The design studio that everybody is freaked out about is in San Diego and won't be affected by the move.
My favorite part of the editorial is that its self-defeating. As proof of how bad the recent changes are, the editors claim that "in the month of August alone, there are minus signs next to all of them except Sentra, Maxima, and Frontier and Murano!" That's not bad, considering "The small sedan and truck groups were all but completely wiped out. The whole Frontier/Xterra team is gone as well as the Sentra/Versa team." The Sentra and Frontiers must be so hot that they've been selling themselves. What they also failed to say is that sales of the Pathfinder, Armada, and Quest spiked 10-40% in the following months and sales of the new Altima and Versa spiked 20-30% in the months following their introduction. Not even Toyota launches do that well. And sales of the Z, Titan, and Xterra were up earlier in the year. That's the entire Nissan lineup, folks. In fact, the worst performers of the past year have all been Infiniti products. Maybe if the Japanese offices were moved to TN, Infiniti sales would perk up.
So where does that leave us? Nissan is doing as well or better now than they were before "the move." Looks like Nissan will be just fine to me.
The editors claim that, "When news of the move leaked to the LA Times in September of last year, almost everybody stopped working on anything meaningful. Of course, obviously they must have started focusing on finding new jobs!" And of the people left, "we would have to assume that these people don’t actually know how to do the detailed, day-to-day work."
If everyone at a major international corporation like FedEx or Exxon was incompetent or stopped working, the whole world would know about it right away. What company out there can run for a whole year with no competent working employees and not show it?
Shoot, how many companies would even be open for business? Yet as an avid enthusiast, well-informed reader, and close follower of the industry, I haven't seen any hiccups from Nissan. It's been pretty much business as usual. Ghosn must be God.OK, so for the sake of argument, assume the other divisions (Japan, Europe, etc) picked up the slack. What does it tell you about the necessity of NNA? Why even bother moving them to TN? Just close down the whole operation and save billions. Thanks FA for putting American jobs at risk. Fortunately, we don't have to worry about that because the editors are just full of BS. In fact, NNA is scheduled to add 700 jobs and already has 40,000 applications for a building that just started construction in June 2006 and won't be completed until mid-2008. And remember, Gardena is just 1 of 14 offices in North America. And it's the one full of hand wavers, bean counters, and paper pushers. The design studio that everybody is freaked out about is in San Diego and won't be affected by the move.
My favorite part of the editorial is that its self-defeating. As proof of how bad the recent changes are, the editors claim that "in the month of August alone, there are minus signs next to all of them except Sentra, Maxima, and Frontier and Murano!" That's not bad, considering "The small sedan and truck groups were all but completely wiped out. The whole Frontier/Xterra team is gone as well as the Sentra/Versa team." The Sentra and Frontiers must be so hot that they've been selling themselves. What they also failed to say is that sales of the Pathfinder, Armada, and Quest spiked 10-40% in the following months and sales of the new Altima and Versa spiked 20-30% in the months following their introduction. Not even Toyota launches do that well. And sales of the Z, Titan, and Xterra were up earlier in the year. That's the entire Nissan lineup, folks. In fact, the worst performers of the past year have all been Infiniti products. Maybe if the Japanese offices were moved to TN, Infiniti sales would perk up.
So where does that leave us? Nissan is doing as well or better now than they were before "the move." Looks like Nissan will be just fine to me.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
coasterswim
8th Generation Maxima (2016-)
1
09-01-2015 05:27 PM