Nissan records losses amid backdrop of Carlos Ghosn scandal
Nissan has posted a net loss of 26.1 billion yen (£183.3m) in the third quarter of 2019.
The company has cut its annual operating profit forecast by 43 per cent after global vehicle sales fell 11 per cent from October to December.
This comes as it faces a changing car market and fallout from the scandal involving former chief Carlos Ghosn.
“We are making progress, but sales volumes have been weak so we need to do more restructuring than initially planned,” Nissan’s boss Makoto Uchida – the third in less than a year – said.
Shares in the company fell by 1.54 per cent and it said it would not pay a dividend for the second half of the year.
Its full-year dividend would be 10 yen per share, compared to 57 a year earlier.
To turn the situation around, reports said that Nissan will reduce the number of car models produced, shut two manufacturing sites and shed at least 4,300 white collar jobs.
Nissan is among the leading global car companies that have been hit by difficulties sourcing components from China following the coronavirus outbreak.
The company is still reeling from the scandal engulfing former chief Carlos Ghosn who was arrested in November 2018 over alleged corruption.
Nissan announced this week that it will be seeking damages from Ghosn.
Elsewhere, the outcome of the Brexit negotiations was a key issue for Nissan when the country questioned the future of its factory in Sunderland.
The company has since suggested production for the UK market could increase at the site.