New CEO Ivan Espinosa is targeting cost savings of approximately 500 billion yen, but acknowledged the uphill battle ahead. “Our full-year financial results are a wake-up call,” he said at a press conference. “The reality is very clear. Our variable costs are rising, and our fixed costs exceed what our current revenue can support.”
The latest cuts bring the total planned workforce reduction to around 20,000 jobs, following an earlier announcement to trim 9,000 positions. Nissan will scale back its global production footprint, reducing the number of factories from 17 to 10. The company also plans to simplify its supply chain, cutting the variety of parts used by 70%. Specific plant closures have not yet been disclosed.
Espinosa confirmed that Nissan will consolidate its manufacturing operations in Thailand and shift production from Argentina to Brazil as part of the global overhaul. The company is also conducting evaluations of its operations in Japan.
In Thailand, Nissan currently operates two plants in Samut Prakan province. As part of the restructuring, it will close Plant 1, which has an annual capacity of 220,000 units, and merge its operations into Plant 2, which can produce 150,000 units per year.
Plant 1 previously assembled models, including the Teana, X-Trail, Sylphy, Note, March, and Almera. Today, only the Almera and Kicks remain in production there. These models will be transitioned to Plant 2, which also manufactures the Navara and Terra.
Industry analysts say the company is still paying the price for its former strategy under ex-Chairman Carlos Ghosn, which focused heavily on sales volume and relied on deep discounts to maintain market share. This approach left Nissan with an ageing product lineup that it is now racing to refresh.
Despite the ambitious restructuring, a swift recovery appears unlikely. CFO Jeremie Papin warned that the company expects a 200 billion yen operating loss in the first quarter of the new fiscal year.
Nissan to shut Thai plant, cut 11,000 jobs globally