Nissan plans to slash 10,000 more jobs as it struggles with China EV competition and Trump’s trade war
Nissan plans to cut 10,000 more jobs worldwide, Japanese media reported on Monday, a day before a poor carmaker is expected to report to report an annual loss of nearly $ 5 billion.
The NHK public broadcaster said the decision, in addition to a November announcement that it was slash 9,000 positions, meant that Nissan aims to reduce the total strength -making it by approximately 15 percent.
Nissan, whose joint -joint joint with Honda collapsed earlier this year, refused to comment on reports that also appeared in Nikkei Business Daily.
The company – one of the top 10 automakers by unit sales – is deeply indebted and engaged in an expensive business repair plan.
Like many peers, Nissan finds it difficult to compete against electrical vehicle brands in China, while its income is under further threat from US trade tariffs.
The possible integration of Japanese rival Honda was seen as a potential lifeline.
But the conversations were crashed in February after Honda suggested to make Nissan a subsidiary instead of incorporating under a holder firm.
Then last month Nissan issued a Stark Revenue warning, saying it expects an annual net loss of 700-750 billion Yen ($ 4.8- $ 5.1 billion) for 2024-25 financial years.
The past worst all year net loss was 684 billion yen in 1999-2000, during a financial crisis born its rocky partnership with French automaker Renault.
Nissan has since faced more speeds – including 2018 arresting former boss Carlos Ghosn, who later fled Japan hidden in an audio equipment box.
The automaker, whose shares have been raised about 40 percent last year, appointed a new CEO in March.
Rating agencies have lowered the garbage firm, along with Moody citing “weak profitability” and “portfolio portfolio”.
And this month Nissan's plans provided plans, recently agreed, to build a $ 1-billion battery plant in Southern Japan because of the tough “business environment”.
Threat of tariffs
An additional headwind is the 25-percent tariff imposed by President Donald Trump on all imported vehicles in the United States.
Of all Japan's major automakers, Nissan is likely to be most seriously affected, Bloomberg Intelligence Analyst Tatsuo Yoshida told the AFP.
Its client has a history that is more sensitive to price than its rivals, he said.
So the company “cannot pass consumer costs to the same size as Toyota or Honda without suffering a significant loss in sales units”, he added.
While Nissan's lack of electric car roster failed to win the Chinese market, the company was recently announced by investments in the tone of 10 billion yuan ($ 1.4 billion) in the second largest economy in the world.
China's high competitive EV Market is the world's largest, led by Carmaker based in Shenzhen Byd.
A potential solution for Nissan can be Taiwanese Electronics Behemoth Hon Hai, better known as Foxconn, which accumulates iPhones and expands on cars.
Foxconn said in February that it was open to the purchase of Renault's stake in Nissan, and this month it agreed to the principle to develop and provide an EV model to Mitsubishi Motors, a Renault and Nissan alliance partner.
External aid, Yoshida said, is “needed” for Nissan, who will no longer change itself from its rivals by making internal efforts to save costs only.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
