Nissan is reportedly considering cutting 20,000 jobs on a global scale, with the bulk of it coming from Europe and emerging markets.
That’s about 15 percent of the automaker’s global workforce, with the job cuts being part of Nissan’s soon-to-be-announced restructuring plan due to its plunging car sales. The Japanese automaker said last year it would cut 12,500 job positions from its workforce, but this plan has obviously been revised.
Read More: Nissan’s Cost-Cutting Moves Could Spell The End Of The 370Z And GT-R In Europe
According to a report from Japanese news agency Kyodo, Nissan wants to streamline its operations worldwide. The Japanese company is looking at measures like pulling the plug on the Datsun brand completely, shutting down its Barcelona plant, and producing Renault models at their Sunderland factory in the UK, among others.
Previous reports suggested that Nissan will scale back its operations in Europe, focusing on SUV models and commercial vehicles. That also means that the automaker’s lineup in the region will become smaller, with the first models to face the axe reportedly being low volume sports cars like the 370Z and the GT-R.
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, Japan’s third-largest automaker suffered from slow sales and falling profits, in addition to a troubled relationship with alliance partner Renault.
The new restructuring plan is reportedly going to focus on strengthening the alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi, aiming to make more efficient use of the Alliance’s regional facilities and core strengths of all three partners.
Reuters reports that the management at Nissan is now convinced that the company must become smaller in order to survive and will likely cut 1 million cars from their annual sales target, focusing more on key markets like the U.S. and China.
