Nissan has reportedly increased its global job cuts to 20,000, marking a major escalation in its ongoing restructuring efforts. The layoffs, now accounting for roughly 15% of the automaker’s total workforce, were first reported by Japanese broadcaster NHK, just one day ahead of Nissan’s full-year earnings announcement scheduled for May 13.
The move comes amid mounting challenges for the Japanese automaker, which had previously announced 9,000 job cuts, factory closures, and a 20% reduction in global production capacity. These measures, however, appear insufficient in reversing the company’s declining performance. Nissan is expected to post a record $5 billion net loss for the fiscal year that ended in March 2025.
The automaker’s 2024 performance has been weighed down by weak sales, restructuring costs, impairment charges, and trade tariffs, particularly affecting its operations in the United States.
Following the resignation of former CEO Makoto Uchida in March, after stalled merger talks with Honda, new CEO Ivan Espinosa has taken charge, facing pressure to stabilize the company. Nissan is now banking on a series of new vehicle launches in an attempt to recover lost ground.
Former Renault-Nissan Alliance Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who fled Japan in 2019 and remains under an international arrest warrant, criticized Nissan’s current leadership. In an interview with France’s BFM Business, Ghosn described the company as being in “dire straits” and reiterated his past predictions about its decline.
He blamed slow and ineffective decisions by Nissan’s current management for the automaker’s predicament, highlighting its failed merger talks with Honda. “It’s like an alliance between Renault and Peugeot—it doesn’t make sense,” Ghosn said.
He also criticized Renault for its shrinking global footprint, noting its weak presence in major markets like China and the U.S. However, he expressed hope that a deeper relationship with Chinese automaker Geely could provide Renault a path forward.
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