Nissan to lay off thousands of workers as sales drop

BBC - Nissan has said it will lay off thousands of workers as it slashes global production to tackle a drop in sales in China and the US.

The Japanese car making giant says it will cut 9,000 jobs around the world in a cost saving effort that will see its global production reduced by a fifth.

Nissan did not immediately respond to a request from BBC News for details on where the job cuts will be made.

The company employs more than 6,000 people at its manufacturing plant in Sunderland, North East England.

The company also cut its operating profit forecasts for 2024 by 70%. It was the second time this year that the firm has lowered its outlook.

“These turnaround measures do not imply that the company is shrinking," said Nissan's chief executive Makoto Uchida.

"Nissan will restructure its business to become leaner and more resilient."

The company said Mr Uchida's monthly salary is being cut by half and that other senior executives will also take pay cuts.

Nissan's shares were trading more than 6% lower on Friday morning in Tokyo.

Growing competition in China has led to falling prices, which has left many foreign car makers there struggling to compete with local firms like BYD.

China has become the world's biggest producer of electric vehicles as many Western rivals have failed to keep up.

"Nissan, like many Japanese car makers, has been very slow to the electrified vehicle party in China and this is reflected in their results," said Mark Rainford, a China-based car industry commentator.

The firm is also struggling in the US, where inflation and high interest rates has hit sales of new vehicles.

Lower demand has led car makers to cut prices, which has dented their profits.

In November last year, Nissan and its partners announced a £2bn ($2.6bn) plan to build three electric car models at its Sunderland factory.

The firm said it will build electric Qashqai and Juke models at the plant alongside the next generation of the electric Leaf, which is already produced there.