Nissan Likely to Layoff 10,000 Employees Globally Amid Weak Sales

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor is reportedly planning to cut around 10,000 jobs globally. These layoffs, along with previously announced ones would result in a reduction of Nissan’s global workforce to about 20,000 or 15%, Reuters reported, citing Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. 

As of March 2024, Nissan’s global workforce stood at around 133,000 and it had announced around 9,000 job cuts in November last year. 

This comes as the third-largest Japanese automaker is going through financial trouble. The company last month warned it would likely book a record $4.74 - $5.08 billion net loss in the financial year, and the Japanese automaker is set to declare its result on May 13.

The current move is reportedly likely to make Nissan’s business more resilient after it witnessed weak sales in China and the United States. The job cut is part of Nissan’s restructuring plan undertaken by its newly appointed CEO, Ivan Espinosa. Nissan’s global vehicle sales dropped 3.8% in the first half of the financial year 2025, mainly around 14.3% decline in China, one of the key markets for the company. 

Nissan had reportedly planned to close a plant in Thailand and shut two more plants, which the company had not disclosed yet. Nissan’s UK operations, which reportedly employ around 7,000 workers, are also facing unique challenges due to the UK’s Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV), which could undermine its manufacturing business. Earlier this year, Honda Motor’s and Nissan Motor’s merger deal collapsed. 

“Globally, we currently have 25 vehicle production lines. Our current plan is to reduce the operational maximum capacity of these 25 lines by 20% by adjusting line speed and shift patterns, thereby increasing efficiency,” Nissan’s head of manufacturing, Hideyuki Sakamoto, had earlier said. 

The Japanese automaker is reportedly set to reach its highest-ever debt levels by 2026, according to some estimates, it is suggested to touch $5.6 billion.