Nissan Motor is reportedly considering a third shift for Nissan Rogue production at its Smyrna, Tennessee manufacturing plant. Before the tariffs instituted by President Donald Trump, the company planned to reduce its Tennessee production and workforce.
Nissan Americas Chairman Christian Meunier told CNBC on Monday that the company was “maxing out the production capacity” of its American plants, including in Smyrna, where the outlet reported Nissan is expected to manufacture its 2027 Nissan Rogue using traditional internal combustion engines.
The outlet also reported that Smyrna will eventually manufacture the latest model of the Nissan Rogue, which will include internal combustion engines that act as generators for electric motors that move the vehicle.
Meunier told CNBC, “The next step is going to be three shifts, and I’m pretty optimistic that with the launch of the new Rogue that is happening in the next couple months, we’ll be able to do that pretty quickly with the launch of the hybrid.”
News that the Japanese automotive giant is eyeing a third shift for its Tennessee operations comes just 20 months after Nissan was weighing employee buyouts for its plants in Smyrna and Decherd, Tennessee, as well as in Canton, Mississippi, in a bid to shed its American workforce.
A January 2025 Reuters report claimed Nissan was weighing plans to slash its American workforce through the buyouts, with the goal of ultimately consolidating the Smyrna plant into just one shift.
Only about two months later, Nissan’s plans to reduce its American workforce were upended by Trump’s tariffs, with Reuters reporting the company had instead stopped taking new orders for Mexican-built vehicles for American consumers.
The news agency specifically reported that Nissan credited “auto tariffs levied by President Donald Trump” for their decision to back away from a Mexican auto plant it operates jointly with Mercedes-Benz.
Though the company has not indicated how many jobs it could create in Tennessee by adding a third shift to the Smyrna plant, CNBC reported that increased production at existing plants “typically means hundreds, if not thousands, of new jobs.”
When Nissan last added a shift to its Smyrna plant in 2012, former Governor Bill Haslam said it would amount to 810 new jobs.
The Japanese automaker says it currently employs about 6,550 people at the Smyrna plant.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Nissan Worker” by Nissan Smyrna.
