Nissan Motor layoffs: Japanese automaker planning huge restructuring efforts

Nissan Motor Co is planning to cut around 1,000 jobs in Thailand or relocate these people by fall 2025, media reports suggest. The Japanese automaker is going through out a tough period, plagued by declining profits.

Citing industrial sources, Japan Today reported that the planned layoffs are part of a pledge Nissan Motor Co has made to slash its global staff size by nearly 7% or 9,000 employees by fiscal 2026 ending in March 2027.

Nissan’s sales in Thailand plunged 29.7% in the 2022-23 fiscal year in comparison to a year-ago period. The Thailand car market has traditionally been dominated by Japanese carmakers. But it has been seeing a drop in sales as Chinese manufacturers gain ground.

Nissan Motor Co plans to become leaner and more resilient

Earlier on Thursday, Nissan Motor Co said around 1,000 of its employees in the US are going to retire early by the end of the year. The third-largest carmaker in Japan also intends to cut its global production capacity by 20%.

Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida issued a statement, stressing that the latest turnaround measures do not imply that the company is shrinking. Instead, Nissan Motor Co plans to restructure its business to become leaner and more resilient, he added.

Nissan Motor Co is reorganising management in an effort to respond quickly and flexibly to changes in the sector. The company clocked an operating profit of 32.9 billion yen in the July-September quarter, compared to 208.1 billion yen a year earlier.