Japanese carmaker Nissan has announced plans to cut an additional 11,000 jobs globally and close seven factories as it restructures its business amid weak sales. Falling sales in China and heavy discounting in the U.S., its two largest markets, have significantly impacted earnings. The latest cutbacks bring the total number of layoffs announced by the company in the past year to about 20,000, or 15% of its workforce.
It remains unclear where the job cuts will occur, including whether Nissan’s plant in Sunderland will be affected. Nissan employs approximately 133,500 people globally, with around 6,000 workers in Sunderland. The latest layoffs come on top of 9,000 job cuts Nissan announced in November as part of a cost-saving effort aimed at reducing its global production by a fifth.
In February, talks between Nissan and its larger rival Honda collapsed after the firms failed to agree on a multi-billion-dollar merger. The plan had been to combine their businesses to compete against rivals, especially in China. The merger would have created a $60 billion (£46 billion) motor industry giant, ranking fourth in the world by vehicle sales after Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai.
Following the failed negotiations, then-chief executive Makoto Uchida was replaced by Ivan Espinosa, previously the company’s chief planning officer and head of its motorsports division.
— new from BBC
