YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) Nissan Motor Co. said Thursday it will relocate most of the functions and personnel of its head office in Tokyo to new headquarters in Yokohama by 2010.
Nissan President Carlos Ghosn announced plans to build a 150-meter-high headquarters at a news conference attended by Yokohama Mayor Hiroshi Nakada in Yokohama's Minato-Mirai waterfront area, where the building will be located.
"Moving our global and domestic operations to Yokohama makes a lot of sense for Nissan," Ghosn said in a statement.
"Our current facilities in Tokyo have served us well over the years, but the management of our global business will require a more advanced, flexible environment that will allow us to work more efficiently and cross-functionally."
Nissan officials said the company will transfer at least 2,000 of the 3,000 employees in the current headquarters in Tokyo's Ginza district to the new facility, which is expected to be fully operational in 2010.
Nissan had been searching for a site for its new facility because the current headquarters has become too small to accommodate all of the company's head office functions, company officials said.
They said Nissan expects to benefit from cost cuts and tax breaks that Yokohama is preparing for firms moving into the area, dubbed Minato-Mirai 21. The city has been redeveloping the area to rev up the local economy.
Nissan was founded in 1933 in Yokohama under its original name, Automobile Manufacturing Co.