The industry that helped turn Japan into an economic juggernaut is undergoing its biggest change in years, with two of the country’s best-known carmakers looking to join forces.

Nissan announced Wednesday that it's cutting U.S. production lines and offering employees voluntary buyouts to avoid layoffs.

Nissan failed to mention exactly when the plants will return to two shifts. However, the Smyrna site will start to build a plug-in hybrid Rogue in 2027, and this will require a second shift. The Canton site will also go back to a two-shift schedule and handle the production of an EV, likely arriving in 2028.

Nissan will operate a single shift on one production line at each of its two U.S. facilities, located in Smyrna and Canton, Mississippi, according to Bloomberg. It expects to go back to a two-shift schedule when it introduces new vehicle models in 2027 and 2028. The production cuts impact the Rogue in Smyrna and the Altima in Canton.

Nissan plans to repair its flailing business without closing factories, according to people familiar with the matter, as it looks to streamline its finances before a capital tie-up with Honda.

When it announced its recovery plan in November, Nissan didn’t give details on where the job cuts might come. The workforce reduction of 9,000 people amounts to about 6% of its more than 133,000 global employees. The company also plans to slash its global production capacity by 20%.

A woman, who was kidnapped from the Canton Nissan plant, has died after falling from a car, and a suspect is in custody. Heath Hall, the spokesperson for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies responded to the plant around 7:30 a.

Nissan’s improved Frontier midsize pickup truck is more useful than before, though it doesn’t give us all the fixes we hoped for.

With a sharp exterior and a modern cabin, the new Murano is much improved. If you caught a glimpse of this SUV in a crowded parking lot, would you be able to tell it's a Nissan Murano? Hell, would you be able to recognize it as a Nissan at all?

This story incorporates reporting from ジャパンタイムズ, Bloomberg on MSN.com and The Associated Press - Business News on MSN.com.Nissan is set to implement significant job and output cuts at its U.S. vehicle assembly plants.