Nissan Motor Co. plans to slash around 20,000 jobs globally, more than double the cuts announced six months ago, as the struggling Japanese automaker confronts a record annual loss and plummeting factory utilization rates.
The workforce reduction, representing about 15% of employees worldwide, comes as Nissan expects to post a net loss of up to ¥750 billion ($5.1 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 2025, according to sources familiar with the matter. This marks a stark reversal from the ¥426.6 billion profit reported a year earlier.
CEO Ivan Espinosa, who took the helm in April after Makoto Uchida’s resignation, faces mounting pressure to address utilization rates far below the industry’s 80% breakeven threshold. Nissan’s factories are operating at just 57.7% capacity in the US, 45.3% in China, and 56.7% in Japan, according to GlobalData.
The automaker previously announced plans to reduce global production capacity by 20% to 4 million vehicles annually. Last week, Nissan canceled a planned $1 billion investment in a Japanese EV battery factory, prioritizing business stabilization over expansion.
The company will book impairments exceeding ¥500 billion across multiple regions. Trump administration tariff policies are anticipated to further squeeze profits this fiscal year.
