After Volkswagen today is the turn of Nissan to announce a restructuring plan drastic to respond to the crisis that is affecting the automotive sector. The Japanese car manufacturer, among the most prestigious in the world, has decided to cut 9.000 jobs globally, a measure that affects nearly 7% of its workforce (133.580 at the end of March). Nissan also announced the 20% reduction in its production capacity, a move which, according to the group, should lead to an optimisation of costs and a recovery of competitiveness on the global market.
These decisions come in the wake of falling sales, which have hit the company's accounts hard, forcing it to revise downwards its revenue and operating profit forecasts for 2024. The cuts plan does not only concern jobs: Nissan has in fact chosen to adopt incisive measures to reduce operating costs, including sale of a 10,02% stake of participation in Mitsubishi Motors.
Nissan, results worrying: operating profit drops by 90%
Nissan has revealed alarming financial data: I'operating profit fell by as much as 90% compared to the previous year (303,8 billion yen), reaching 32,9 billion yen (about 195 million euros) in the July-September quarter. operating margin of 0,5%, drastically reduced compared to the 5,6% of last year, highlights the collapse of profitability. Even the turnover fell by 79,1 billion yen, for a total of 5.980 billion (36,1 billion euros).
The company said the difficulties were amplified by a increase in selling expenses and from the efforts to Optimize inventory, particularly challenging on the US market. Even the China, the world's largest automotive market, has negatively weighted on the group's accounts: Nissan does not offer a competitive range of electric vehicles in this country, a gap that Chinese rivals such as BYD and Tesla have been able to quickly fill.
Tesla and Chinese brands are gaining ground globally, setting new standards for efficiency and sustainability. Nissan, although a pioneer in the electric vehicle sector with the Nissan Leaf, is finding it difficult to keep up, especially in Asian markets.
Nissan sells 10% of Mitsubishi Motors
Nissan has also decided to reduce its Participation in Mitsubishi Motors from 34% to 24%, with the sale of 149 million shares, equal to 10,02% of the capital. The operation will not change the collaborations industrial relations in progress between the two companies (and in particular the alliance with Renault), but should provide Nissan greater flexibility financial, encouraging the possibility of further investments for the relaunch.
The move, Nissan said, “will support Mitsubishi’s management strategy and enhance Nissan’s financial flexibility,” opening the way to new growth opportunities in a time of great uncertainty for the automotive market.
To respond to the crisis, the Japanese company has adopted further measures. The CEO Makoto Uchida has decided to voluntarily reduce your salary by 50%, a symbolic move that aims to reassure investors and employees of the management's willingness to engage in a concrete turnaround. In addition, Nissan has established a new location of “Chief Performance Officer”, responsible for monitoring the progress of the initiatives to recover sales and profits, starting in December.
Despite the cuts, the company said it plans to reduce fixed costs by 300 billion yen and variable costs by another 100 billion yen, aiming for a more sustainable management model.
Nissan: guidance revised downwards
In light of these changes, Nissan has drastically lowered its forecasts for the 2024 financial year, reducing the annual production estimates from 3,45 million to 3,2 million units and lowering operating profit projections by 70%, from 500 billion yen to 150 billion yen. Makoto Uchida emphasized that the current situation represents an “important lesson” for the company: “We have not been able to keep up with the times.” Nissan is now facing a phase of strategic redefinition, with the aim of building a more resilient and future-oriented corporate structure.
