Nissan's New Hires: Temps for 5 Years

Nissan is hiring about 1,000 new employees at its Mississippi plant, but there are more than a couple caveats that come with the new job opportunities. The most recent hires will be making about $12 an hour, and will remain as temporary employees for five years, reports the Detroit Free Press. It's not unusual for players in the struggling auto industry to utilize temporary workers, but analysts say that such a long period for temp work is out of the ordinary. For instance, Chrysler added temporary workers to its Illinois plant in 2009, but made them permanent in 2010.

Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automotive Research say such moves are the "response of a shell-shocked industry trying to avoid anything remotely fixed until they know demand is there for a long time." Nissan's employees will be eligible for incremental raises, but those will cap off after five years. A top Nissan North America exec says that most skilled Nissan employees need that much time to get up to speed. (More auto industry stories.)