Nissan to cut retiree health benefits
From the Los Angeles Times:
In a first for a Japanese automaker, Nissan Motor Co. is curtailing its retiree health insurance and pension programs in the U.S., saying it needs to cut costs to “remain competitive.”
The move comes as concerns mount that such expenses are crippling the competitive efforts of U.S. automakers, particularly General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. GM, for example, provides benefits for 1.1 million workers, their families and retirees. The beleaguered Detroit automaker has said its retiree healthcare bill alone adds $1,600 to the cost of every GM vehicle made in the U.S.
American companies in many industries have cut retiree benefits for more than a decade, but “Nissan is leading the automotive industry with such changes,” said Paul Fronstin, director of the health research program at the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington.
Nissan will limit healthcare coverage for retirees from its U.S. manufacturing plants and will no longer pay a guaranteed monthly pension to new hires in this country, the company said in a note to employees last week.
Greg Kelly, vice president for human resources, said in an e-mail to employees at Nissan’s North American headquarters in Gardena that the plan for new hires “will
support Nissan’s aim to provide long-term job security for all employees.”
Nissan told manufacturing workers that at age 65, retirees and their spouses would receive annual stipends so they could buy their own insurance to help supplement the U.S. government’s Medicare plan, instead of receiving supplemental health coverage from the company.