Nissan to Cut 10,000 Additional Jobs, Japanese Media Report
Nissan is in even more trouble than expected. In addition to anticipated losses for 2025 that are higher than previously announced, the automaker is planning to cut a further 10,000 jobs worldwide, according to reports from Japanese media on Monday, including the Nikkei business daily.
Together with the 9,000 job cuts already announced last November, this would mean that nearly 20,000 Nissan employees will soon be laid off, or around 15 percent of its total workforce, according to public broadcaster NHK.
- Also: Budget-Friendly Nissan Kicks Play Won’t Return for 2026
- Also: Nissan Revises U.S. Production Cuts After Tariffs
Further details and official reactions will follow on Tuesday, when Nissan is due to publish its financial results for the financial year that ended on March 31.
In recent months, Nissan has tried unsuccessfully to join forces with Honda, then massively slashed its production capacity worldwide. The costs of its turnaround measures, following a change of CEO, are of course added to the impact of the new U.S. tariffs (around 30 percent of Nissan’s global sales are made in the U.S.).
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida told AFP that Nissan is likely to be the most severely impacted among all Japanese automakers because its customers have historically been more price-sensitive than those of its rivals. He said the company "can't pass the costs on consumers to the same extent as Toyota or Honda without suffering a significant loss in sales units."
China also remains a crucial market for Nissan. Sales there fell by 27 percent in the first quarter of this year, but the company intends to invest approximately $2 billion CAD by the end of 2026 to hopefully get back on track.
Nissan’s stock has tanked nearly 40 percent over the past year. Meanwhile, ratings agencies have downgraded the company to junk, with Moody's citing its "weak profitability" and "ageing model portfolio."
Forging a new alliance is more vital than ever for Nissan. An increasingly plausible solution involves Taiwanese electronics giant Hon Hai a.k.a. Foxconn. The iPhone maker said in February it was open to buying Renault's stake in Nissan. Then, in early April, it confirmed plans to launch a half-dozen electric models including light-duty vehicles and buses. At least two of them are aimed at the U.S. market.
