Nissan to cut 12,500 jobs

25 July 2019

Following a collapse in quarterly profit, Nissan unveiled a global restructuring plan, which involves reducing its workforce by nearly 10% and possible plant closures.

Nissan’s operating profit for the quarter ending June 30, 2019 (the first quarter of Nissan’s fiscal year) declined 98.5% to 1.6 billion yen ($14.80 million), its worst performance since a loss in the March 2008 quarter. Nissan’s global unit sales decreased 6.0% to 1.23 million units during the quarter.

Nissan will reduce at least 12,500 positions globally by March 2023—its deepest job cuts since 2009. The company had 138,000 employees as of March 2018.

To improve its overall utilization rate, Nissan will reduce its global production capacity by 10% by the end of fiscal year 2022, mostly affecting compact cars at underutilized plants abroad, the company said. Nissan will also reduce the size of its product lineup by at least 10% by the end of fiscal year 2022 in order to focus investment on global core models and strategic regional models.

The move reflects the global slowdown in the auto industry, as slower vehicle sales coincide with increased investment in prospective future technologies such as electric cars and autonomous driving. Earlier this year, jobs reductions were announced by Ford, while Daimler, Aston Martin and Continental issued profit warnings this week.

Source: Nissan | Reuters