I heard that my old place just gave everyone pink slips. Most will probably be hired back but some will be toast. I'm glad I retired when I did. Nissan used to be a great place to be. ----------- (EDITED Fri, March 28th, 2008 - It has been brought to my attention that some of the statements I made in this post are not accurate. I assume it refers to (primarily) the earlier posts like this one. Therefore I have decided to add this statement so that anyone reading the thread from the start will know to go through and catch my later ones, which are more informed. It goes without saying that the company allowed a vacuum to occur for quite a while without any public statements setting out their position. It is natural for rumors and hyperbole to get a toehold in such an environment and I feel bad that I participated in that environment. Nonetheless, I will stand by my more recent (and more informed) statements which are still not very flattering to NDA.)
This message has been edited. Last edited by: aflo,
I visited the lobby of that studio. When someone walked in, swiped a card, and made that door to one of the inner studios slide open, I thought, "Very Star Trek."
Nice, simple concrete forms. Must have been a great place to come up with ideas.
ALL?!
aflo, did NDA work on infiniti color schemes also? I found those top notch, superior to a European brand which shall go unmentioned (rhymes with mercedes).
Seems like the New Trend within Nissan, globally.. Nothing better to get a designers creativity flowing then being kicked out of the door, even if he gets hired back.. Great boost of confidence for people with families to take care off.... "Yeah honey.. I see a long future for me at NDA.." "Oh no you didn't!!"
Al.. I have been trying to contact you through Danny Ellis and through the PM here. Could you contact me please?
Seems times are tough all over and costs are getting cut.
When you have companies like GM claiming a $38 billion dollar loss for 2007 you gotta expect heads to roll.
I expect cars to become more and more like mundane products and the industry to use less designers. Car manufactures are too focused on the useless gadgets that go inside cars than the design. Just pick up a car magazine or watch tv. Car advertisements don't talk about the performance, motor, handling, or design anymore. They push useless junk like nav and mp3 players instead?!!!?! We've lost our way.
It's time like these I'm glad I didn't land a corporate gig.
(gloom, gloom, gloom) No. If the ad guys don't sprout performance talk, it's because we're not buying performance. Get out of that SUV and buy a bugeye (sorry, "frogeye") Sprite. And DRIVE it. Practice avoiding accidents in a performance car, instead of a big behemoth looking for one. I can't begin to tell you what a great social experience it is in a roadster (though mine isn't a bugeye (sorry, "frogeye") Sprite).
And no, you car designers didn't make a wrong decision. I took a class at ArtCenter wanting to do auto design, but did landscape architecture elsewhere (during plant identification classes, I'd be staring at the parking lot instead, thinking, "Ooo, there's an Olds Calais parked next to a Buick Skylark, similar yet different; boy are they trying real hard!", when I should have been looking at that Erythrina coralloides.) There will always be that itch. (And btw, my industry (building) is more polluting than yours, go figure.)
And the big corporates are smart. If you read between the lines, you can see that they'll still be around.
You're designers. You're creative. You'll find the answers.
My hope is that the majority of the staff will be rehired almost immediately. I assume they have been given notice but are still on the job. Of course, not all would stay and by giving everyone notice, they can avoid legal issues yet still get rid of those they want too. Very crappy way to treat people. When we started NDA, this never could have happened. We might have failed and got the axe but not manipulated like this. It is not good for creativity but is perfectly consistent with the recent move of US headquarters from LA to Nashville to save a few bucks in operating costs. I will be finding out more on Friday. By the way, we call that the Star Wars door and your should see the big 15ft pivoting glass door farther inside.
What was once Nissan's big, glass tower in socal felt, um, hierarchical. It seemed to say, "I'm climbing to the top and stepping on others on the way." On the other hand, there is Toyota's headquarters down the street. The way they shade the ribbons of glass is done rather handsomely. Efficient, clever and elegant, on this building. And the atrium is practically a cathedral for cars, a definite must-see (the cathedral, I mean).
