May 13 (UPI) — Japanese automaker Nissan said Tuesday it will shutter seven plants and cut thousands of additional jobs in a second round of job cuts after yielding millions of dollars in profit losses last year.
The shake-up cuts Nissan’s global workforce by a total of 20,000 and will reduce its number of its factories from 17 to 10 by 2027.
“The decision (to reduce the workforce), of course, was not easy,” said Nissan Motor Co. CEO Ivan Espinosa.
Officials said it will impact Nissan staff and contractor roles across its manufacturing, sales, admin, research and development divisions as it grappled with poor sales in China and the United States and a decreased consolidated operating profit of $2.78 billion to $300 million.
“In the face of challenging full-year 2024 performance and rising variable costs compounded by an uncertain environment,” Espinosa said, adding Nissan “must prioritize self-improvement with greater urgency and speed, aiming for profitability that relies less on volume.”
However, Nissan officials did not indicate which of is plants will close.
This latest round of cuts includes the thousands of global job cuts announced by the company in November and brings it to a collective 15% reduction.
Nissan announced it will cut 9,000 jobs and reduce manufacturing capacity by 20% on top of a 50% monthly pay cut for Nissan executives as it pointed to its “severe” financial “situation” while the company aims to return to profitability by fiscal year 2026.
“Unfortunately, as you have seen the results, the size of the company is just not sustainable,” said Espinosa. “And if we don’t do something now, the problem will just get worse.”
By December, Nissan was on track to create the world’s third-largest auto group with rival Honda by 2026 in a deal that broke down after mega-merger negotiations failed in February for Nissan to be Honda’s subsidiary company.
Meanwhile, the impact of sweeping tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump tarnished Nissan’s outlook with it no longer providing guidance for its income and operating profits for 2025 through March 2026 due to ongoing uncertainty over American tariff policy.
Espinosa, who took over the CEO job on April 1, said he hopes for “stability and clarity” on tariffs while Japan negotiates with the United States.
“It’s very difficult to plan in the current volatility,” he stated.
