Japanese automaker Nissan has announced a major restructuring program amid a sharp drop in profits. The company plans to cut about 9000 jobs, or about 7% of its total workforce, and reduce production capacity by 20%, vc.ru reports.
Within the framework of the reorganization, Nissan also intends to sell about a third of its 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors. The 10 percent stake is valued at 453 million USD as of November 7, 2024, according to Bloomberg.
The decision to restructure comes amid a serious deterioration in the company's financial performance. Nissan's net profit for the first half of 2024 fell by 94% year-on-year to just 127 million USD. The company also significantly reduced its operating profit forecast for fiscal 2024 from 3,3 billion to 990 million USD, a 70% reduction.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida acknowledged that the company faces serious challenges.
“Achieving sales targets will be a challenge. We need to recuperate to move in a more positive direction”, - he said.
Similar optimization measures are being observed at other automakers. For example, at the end of October 2024, Volkswagen announced plans to close three plants in Germany and cut employee salaries by 10% due to growing competition with Chinese manufacturers.