Nissan North America will trim output at its Mississippi and Tennessee vehicle-assembly plants through the rest of the month, a reaction to a sharp drop in vehicle sales nationally.
Nissan plans to cut Friday production on its Altima sedan line in Canton, Miss., for the rest of the month.
The Smyrna, Tenn., plant's car line, which produces the Maxima, Altima sedan, hybrid and coupe also will lose Friday production. An e-mailed company statement said the volume reduction is temporary.
"Nissan manages its production inventory levels as it does every other aspect of operations — with flexibility and in response to customer demand. We will remain competitive in the challenging environment that exists in the U.S. economy and in our industry," the statement read.
Canton's truck line, which produces the Titan pickup, Quest minivan, Armada sport utility vehicle and Infiniti QX56 SUV, is already on four-day weeks.
Compared with September 2007, Nissan's sales fell nearly 37 percent.
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