Nissan job cuts stretched to 20,000 – reports
Nissan plans to slash as many as 20,000 jobs amid a wider restructuring of the struggling Japanese carmaker’s business.
The automaker initially announced plans to layoff 9,000 employees in November. That figure has since been increased by 11,000 following a rougher-than-expected start to the year, according to a report from the Japanese national broadcaster NHK on Monday.
Nissan is grappling with huge losses as it struggles with a downturn in demand and ferocious competition in the Chinese market.
The company expects a net loss of ¥750bn (£3.8bn) for the fiscal year 2024, which ran until the end of March.
Further details of the plans will be revealed at a press conference on Tuesday, according to NHK. It is unclear which parts of the business will be impacted by the layoffs, which comprise around 15 per cent of its total workforce.
Nissan has been approached for comment.
In the UK, the company is pressing ahead with multi-billion plans to build a string of electric car models at its Sunderland gigafactory. It employs around 6,000 people at the facility.
Nissan is looking at shrinking production capacity by around a fifth following a string of recent profit downgrades.
Shares have fallen nearly 30 per cent this year-to-date.
Activist investors including a fund run by the notorious Effissimo Capital Management have taken up stakes in Nissan amid the struggles.
A proposed mega-merger between Honda and Nissan collapsed earlier this year after the firms failed to come to an agreement.
The companies have, however, pledged to continue working together in the electric vehicle (EV) space alongside Mitsubishi.