About a dozen people, including Nissan managers, auto consultants and government officials, all of whom asked not to be identified, said the automaker had set things in motion to move its headquarters to the Nashville area, where Nissan's largest U.S. manufacturing plant is located.

Nissan executives declined to comment. "We are studying the issue and when a decision is made we will announce it," said spokesman Fred Standish.

But several company insiders, who asked to remain unidentified because they feared losing their jobs, say Nissan already has signed a deal to lease new headquarters facilities in Williamson County, Tenn.

One celebrated Nissan figure who opposes the proposed move is retired executive Yutaka Katayama, renowned as the father of the Nissan "Z" sports car. Katayama, 96, is called "Mr. K" by legions of Nissan enthusiasts and was head of the U.S. operation from its inception in 1958 until 1978.

He hand-delivered a letter, entitled "Voice Against Relocation," to Ghosn's office at the company's Tokyo headquarters two weeks ago, said his longtime associate Masataka Usami.

In an e-mail to The Times, Katayama said he believed that relocating its California headquarters would cost Nissan "its sensitivity to the [U.S.] car business" by removing key marketing and product development people from an area "considered to be the birthplace of automobile culture."

Nissan employees in Gardena are said to be upset about the proposed move and some executives say privately they expect many of the staff will resign rather than relocate to Tennessee.

Auto industry consultants say widespread resignations would help Nissan save money because it could replace highly paid employees with new workers at lower pay with lesser benefits.