Japanese car giant announces mass layoffs Japanese auto giant Nissan said it will lay off 9,000 workers globally and reduce its production capacity by about a fifth amid declining sales in its key markets.
The automaker cut its annual operating profit forecast by 70% to 150 billion yen ($976 million), the second downward revision this year, according to a statement released on Thursday. It also said it will resell 10% of its shares in Mitsubishi Motors, reducing its stake from 34% currently Storie News.
Chief Executive Makoto Uchida will voluntarily give up 50% of his monthly salary starting this month, while other members of the executive committee will also voluntarily take pay cuts.
“Faced with a serious situation, Nissan is taking urgent measures to turn around its performance and create a more agile and flexible business that can quickly adapt to market changes,” Nissan said in a statement.
Nissan to lay off thousands of workers as sales drop
Nissan, Japan’s third-largest automaker, has been struggling to cope with slumping sales in the world’s biggest auto market, China. The company’s global sales fell 3.8 percent to 1.6 million vehicles in the first half of the fiscal year, largely due to a 14.3 percent decline in China, where it faces increasing competition from domestic automakers.
In the United States, the company’s sales fell 3 percent to about 449,000 vehicles. The Chinese and U.S. markets together account for nearly half of Nissan’s global sales by volume.
According to the statement, the company plans to boost the introduction of new energy vehicles in China, as well as plug-in hybrids and e-POWER models in the United States, while simultaneously increasing sales of each model to enhance efficiency.
“These transformational measures do not mean the company is shrinking,” Nissan CEO Uchida said.
Japanese car giant Nissan
Nissan will restructure its business to become more agile and flexible, while reorganizing management to respond quickly and flexibly to changes in the business environment.
Japanese car giant announces mass layoffs
Uchida took up his current role in 2019, as the company grappled with a management crisis following the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn on charges of alleged financial misconduct.
Since then, Uchida has struggled to rejuvenate the struggling automaker. He now seeks to expand Nissan’s lineup of electric vehicles, forge new partnerships and sell an additional 1 million vehicles annually by 2027.