Nissan cuts jobs amid slowing sales

SIGNIFICANT fiscal quarter losses – the result of increased costs, ballooning inventory and slowing sales – have prompted Nissan to announce the axing of 9000 jobs across the globe.

 

The jobs cuts represent around six per cent of Nissan’s global workforce, which is estimated at more than 133,000 people. The company will also slash vehicle production worldwide, by as much as 20 per cent.

 

For the latest quarter through September, Nissan racked up a 9.3 billion yen ($A92.5m) loss, a reversal from the 190.7 billion yen ($A1.9b) profit recorded in the same quarter a year ago.

 

Quarterly sales fell to 2.9 trillion yen ($A28.8b) from 3.1 trillion yen ($A30.8b).

 

Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida announced he will take a 50 per cent pay cut considering the dismal results, while promising that a turnaround is in sight.

 

He said all aspects of Nissan’s operations and plans are under review

 

“I take this situation very seriously,” he said. “Nissan will restructure its business to become leaner and more resilient.”

 

Yokohama-based Nissan reported fiscal first-half sales revenue of 5.9 trillion yen ($A59.5b), down one per cent from the more than 6.0 trillion yen ($A59.7b) the same period last year.

 

Its April to September, profit totalled 19.2 billion yen ($A191m), down from the 296.2 billion yen ($A2.9b) earned over the same six months last year.

 

Nissan lowered its sales revenue forecast for the fiscal year through March 2025 to 12.7 trillion yen ($A126.3b) from an earlier projection for 14 trillion yen ($A139.2b).

 

It did not give a net profit forecast, citing uncertainty; but promised to give a profit forecast as soon as possible.

 

Nissan now expects to sell 3.4 million vehicles globally in the fiscal year ending in March 2025, down from an earlier projected 3.65 million vehicles.

 

The new number is about the same that Nissan sold last fiscal year.

 

Nissan said it is appointing a chief performance officer tasked with turnaround decision-making, who will begin his job next month.

 

No dividends will be paid out, given the harsh results.

 

Locally, Nissan has tallied 37,710 sales to the end of October.

 

The Light SUV segment Juke has sold just 1496 examples in a category topped by the Mazda CX-3 (15,433), while Small SUV segment Qashqai 5827 examples fell well short of the segment-leading MG ZS (18,668).

 

Medium SUV sales show a similar trend with YTD sales of the X-Trail (13,903) well behind those of the chart-topping Toyota RAV4 (48,073), while the Large SUV segment Pathfinder has amassed just 497 unit sales against the category-leading Ford Everest (21,281).

 

Nissan’s four-wheel drive and utility sales follow a similar trend… Upper Large SUV player Patrol has achieved 6709 sales in a category dominated by the Toyota LandCruiser (13,464), while Navara 4x2 (917 YTD unit sales) tails segment leader Toyota HiLux (6395 YTD unit sales) significantly.

 

The popular 4x4 segment again shows a decline in sales of Nissan’s aging Navara, the model totalling just 7746 unit sales YTD against the segment-leading Ford Ranger with 49,028 sales YTD.

 

Even the sports segment Nissan Z – one of the most keenly anticipated new Nissan models in sometime – is performing well short of the segment datum. Nissan has sold just 296 examples of the Z to the end of October, down significantly on the segment-leading Ford Mustang with 866 unit sales.

 

With AP News