Nissan North America will present separation packages to eligible Mississippi and Tennessee employees this month. Next comes a review period beginning in mid-March, with shift changes planned for April. The automaker announced the voluntary buyouts as a cost-cutting measure in the wake of its fallout from talks with Honda.

Nissan’s Canton, MS plant employs 4,500 and should build EVs by 2028

Three years ago, the car company shared plans to inject $500 million into its Canton factory. The idea was to prep the facility to manufacture five EVs by 2025.

In January, the senior manager of Manufacturing and Communications said the plant would still transform into a Nissan Intelligent Factory…but by 2028 instead.

Moreover, as news of the delay rolled out, the Nissan exec assured that leadership planned “no job loss related to electrification.”

However, a journalist at the Clarion Ledger expressed concern, citing an AP story from 2021 noting the lack of human workers at Nissan’s Japan-based “intelligent factory.” The factory used AI-powered robots to perform many manufacturing and quality-control steps.

Smyrna, TN factory has 5,700 employees and is Nissan’s largest U.S. production facility

Since 1983, Nissan’s Smyrna factory workers have produced more than 15 million cars. The automaker shared that after the buyouts, one production line would retain two shifts of employees while another would be reduced to a single shift.

Nissan North America continues to roll out the buyouts as rumored talks between Tesla and the Japanese automaker simmer. Last month, the automaker shared plans to cut 9,000 jobs overall.