Nissan to shut 7 plants, shed 20,000 jobs on huge loss

Yokohama (Jiji Press) — Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday that it will close seven vehicle plants and reduce its group workforce by 20,000 people in Japan and abroad by fiscal 2027.

Nissan announced additional restructuring measures as it reported a consolidated net loss of 670.8 billion yen for fiscal 2024 through March this year, almost reaching its record red ink of 684.3 billion yen marked in fiscal 1999. In fiscal 2023, Nissan earned a net profit of 426.6 billion yen.

For fiscal 2024, the company saw its operating profit plunge 87.7 pct from the preceding year to 69.7 billion yen, on sales of 12,633.2 billion yen, down 0.4 pct.

The automaker plans to narrow down its parts suppliers and other business partners.

At a press conference at Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama, near Tokyo, President and CEO Ivan Espinosa admitted that the automaker has “a very high cost structure.”

Nissan “must prioritize self-improvement with greater urgency and speed, aiming for profitability with less reliance on volume” amid the volatile global market environment, he also said.

Nissan initially planned to cut 9,000 jobs globally and shutter three plants, including in Thailand, by fiscal 2026. The expanded job cut amounts to around 15 pct of the group’s total workforce.

The group’s vehicle plants will decrease from 17 to 10. Domestic workers and plants will be subject to consideration for the workforce and plant cuts, but Espinosa did not mention specific factories being mulled for closure.

Nissan’s business performance deteriorated rapidly due to sluggish sales in the United States and China. The company booked an impairment loss of nearly 500 billion yen as the values of its plants plunged due to slow output. Costs for vehicle discounts to revitalize U.S. sales and restructuring-linked expenses also contributed to the net loss.

The automaker did not disclose a projection for its bottom line for fiscal 2025, citing uncertainty linked to the U.S. tariff policy. But it forecasts an operating loss of 200 billion yen for the quarter through June.

High tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump are estimated to have a negative impact of up to 450 billion yen on Nissan’s earnings in the full year through next March.