Six months after revealing layoffs affecting 9,000 workers, Nissan is more than doubling that amount and cutting 20,000 jobs within the next two years instead.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Nissan publicized a recovery plan called “Re:Nissan,” which aims to save the company 500 billion yen ($3.4 billion). The cost savings will partly be realized through layoffs affecting 15% of Nissan’s 133,580-person global workforce, or about 20,000 workers, to take effect by 2027.
Nissan stated that the job cuts will affect roles in divisions like manufacturing, research and development, marketing, and administration, though it is unclear which exact roles and locations will be affected.
The automaker is also planning to close seven of its 17 vehicle production plants by 2027 to save costs under the recovery plan. In the U.S., Nissan currently employs about 21,000 people and operates three manufacturing plants.
Related: ‘Very Challenging’: Nissan Appoints a New CEO Amid Effort to See the Company ‘Survive’
The “Re:Nissan” plan arrived as the company announced its most recent financial results on Tuesday for the fiscal year 2024 (the 12 months ending in March), a net loss of 670.9 billion yen ($4.5 billion). The automaker also saw its operating profit decline 88% from 2023, hitting 69.8 billion yen ($472 million) in 2024.
“As you can see, our full-year financial results are a wake-up call,” Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa, 46, said during a press conference on Tuesday, per Reuters. “The reality is very clear. Our variable costs are rising. Our fixed costs are higher than our current revenue can support.”
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa. Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP
Nissan has also recently faced weak sales. The company’s global vehicle sales totaled 3.35 million in 2024, a drop from 3.37 million in 2023. In the U.S., sales of Nissan vehicles reached 924,008 units in 2024, a slight increase of 2.8% from the previous year, but down over 30% since 2019.
The automaker is also reeling from a failed partnership. Nissan said in December that it was in talks with Honda on a possible merger, but negotiations fizzled out less than two months later, after Honda proposed turning Nissan into a subsidiary and Nissan rejected the possibility.
Related: Should CEOs Take a Pay Cut to Avoid Layoffs and Cutting Jobs? It’s Complicated, Experts Say
Espinosa now frames fiscal year 2025 as “a year of transition” towards profitability. Nissan is looking to become profitable by fiscal year 2026.
“Nissan must prioritize self-improvement with greater urgency and speed, aiming for profitability with less reliance on volume,” Espinosa said at the press conference. “This is what we’re setting out to do with our new recovery plan.”
Espinosa has only recently stepped into the CEO role after serving as Nissan’s chief planning officer for a year. He replaced Makoto Uchida, 58, as Nissan CEO on April 1.
Nissan had a market cap of $8.42 billion at the time of writing, down from $38.87 billion in May 2018.
Six months after revealing layoffs affecting 9,000 workers, Nissan is more than doubling that amount and cutting 20,000 jobs within the next two years instead.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Nissan publicized a recovery plan called “Re:Nissan,” which aims to save the company 500 billion yen ($3.4 billion). The cost savings will partly be realized through layoffs affecting 15% of Nissan’s 133,580-person global workforce, or about 20,000 workers, to take effect by 2027.
Nissan stated that the job cuts will affect roles in divisions like manufacturing, research and development, marketing, and administration, though it is unclear which exact roles and locations will be affected.
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