Nissan to cut 110 US jobs, close design studio

DETROIT Jan 27 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) plans to cut 110 white-collar jobs and will close a Detroit-area design studio, the automaker said on Tuesday.

The Japanese automaker also said it would close four regional sales offices in the United States and consolidate its U.S. design operations at an existing studio in San Diego.

The Nissan sales offices to be closed are in Herndon, Virginia; Pleasanton, California; Aurora, Illinois; and Atlanta.

Nissan's design studio in Farmington Hills, Michigan, will be closed. An adjacent research and development center for the automaker will not be affected by the move, Nissan spokeswoman Katherine Zachary said.

Zachary said Nissan expected that fewer than 10 design jobs were expected to be cut as a result of the changes. The rest of the job cuts will come from Nissan's marketing and sales operations, she said.

Nissan said it expected to offer buyouts for most of the workers whose positions are being eliminated.

Nissan, like other automakers, has been hit by the downturn in global auto sales. U.S. sales for the Nissan and Infiniti brands dropped 11 percent in 2008, a smaller decline than the 18 percent drop in the overall U.S. car and truck market. (Reporting by Kevin Krolicki; editing by Richard Chang)