Nissan confirms 20,000 layoffs worldwide

Nissan has confirmed that its crisis is deeper than previously reported. The Japanese automaker will lay off 20,000 people by 2027 , or around 15% of its total workforce . This figure represents an additional 11,000 layoffs compared to the 9,000 announced in November 2024 , after incurring net losses of 670.9 billion yen (approximately €4.04 billion) last year.

Japan's third-largest automotive company by sales volume released its financial results for fiscal year 2024 on Tuesday, confirming a situation its top management described as "very complex" and emphasizing the need for "urgent" measures.

Its net losses contrast with the net profit of 426.6 billion yen (2.593 billion euros) obtained the previous year, and are mainly attributed to the sharp depreciation of its assets and the increase in its operating costs.

The company's operating profit plummeted 87.7% year-on-year to 69.8 billion yen (approximately €424 million), while its revenue fell slightly by 0.4% to 12.63 trillion yen (approximately €76.8 billion).

"Fiscal 2024 was a very challenging year for us, and we anticipate these challenges will continue into 2025," Nissan Chief Financial Officer Jeremie Papin said during the results presentation.

The figures do not include the impact of tariffs on vehicle imports imposed by the United States , which went into effect last April and are expected to have a negative effect of 450 billion yen (2.739 billion yen) on Nissan's accounts for the current fiscal year.

Given its forecast of incurring losses this fiscal year, the company announced last November that it would lay off 9,000 employees worldwide by 2026.

This figure has now more than doubled to 20,000 by fiscal year 2027, which will run from April of that year to March 2028.

From 17 to 10 floors

Nissan hopes to return to profitability with these layoffs, combined with reducing the number of its vehicle production plants worldwide from the current 17 to 10, which will reduce its global production volume by 30% excluding China.

The company's president and CEO, Iván Espinosa, justified these measures by stating the need to undertake a "faster" and "more ambitious" restructuring than the one initially proposed last year by the previous management.

Espinosa declined to provide further details about the factories that could be affected by the closures and layoffs, although he noted that in addition to vehicle production facilities, cuts are also planned at powertrain plants.

As part of its restructuring plan, Nissan had already announced the cessation of production in Argentina, the consolidation of its pickup trucks in Mexico, and the abandonment of its plan to build a new electric vehicle battery factory in the Japanese city of Kitakyushu, in the southwest of the archipelago.