Nissan looks to axe over 20,000 jobs

Nissan Motor Co is looking to cut over 20,000 jobs, about 15% of its global workforce, as part of a restructuring plan due to slumping sales amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to sources close to the matter.

Japan’s third-largest automaker by volume “is considering labour reductions in Europe and some emerging economies as it seeks to streamline production operations to restore its battered business,’’ the sources said yesterday.

It is Nissan’s most drastic job reduction since 1999, when Carlos Ghosn, a long-time boss who was arrested by Japanese prosecutors in 2018 for alleged financial misconduct, announced his strategy to revive the automaker from the brink of bankruptcy after it and Renault SA agreed on a capital tie-up.

The global spread of the novel coronavirus has led to the suspension of Nissan’s domestic and overseas plants, pressuring its sales in major markets such as North America and Europe.

Nissan said in July that it would cut 12,500 jobs at 14 production bases globally by March 2023 as part of a restructuring.

But its deepening business slump amid the pandemic has pushed it to work on additional reform measures including closing plants in Spain as well as Indonesia and some other emerging markets.

The Yokohama-headquartered automaker is scheduled to announce a new medium-term management plan, also possibly including a cut of global output capacity by 20% by fiscal 2022, when it releases its earnings results for the year ended March on May 28.

The company has already said it expects to report a group net loss of 85 billion yen ($790 million) to 95 billion yen in fiscal 2019, with its annual global vehicle sales standing at 4.79 million units after marking a record high of 5.79 million units in fiscal 2017.