Just while you thought things couldn’t get any worse for Nissan, they’ve – the Japanese carmaker posted a net lack of 670.9 billion yen (RM19.6 billion) for the fiscal yr 2024, ending March 31, 2025. The fourth quarter alone was chargeable for dragging the corporate deep into the red, with net loss widening from nine billion yen (RM262.6 million) within the previous quarter to an astounding 676 billion yen (RM19.7 billion).
In response – and under latest management – Nissan has kicked off an excellent more aggressive series of cost-cutting measures under the Re:Nissan banner, targeting savings of 500 billion yen (RM14.6 billion) because it looks to return to profitability by the fiscal yr 2026.
Those measures include cutting a whopping 20,000 jobs between FY24 to FY27, including the previously-announced 9,000. This covers direct, indirect and contracted roles in manufacturing, sales, general and administration (SG&A), and even research and development.
Cuts within the manufacturing workforce are to be expected because Nissan can also be closing more plants, whittling the entire number from the present 17 to simply ten. It’s going to also streamline its powertrain facilities and reduce capital expenditure, including cancelling a planned lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery factory in Kyushu, Japan. All it will enable a targeted fixed cost reduction of 250 billion yen (RM7.3 billion).
The opposite 250 billion yen will come from variable cost reductions through “accelerating engineering and value efficiencies while implementing a rigorous governance model,” with a 300-strong dedicated cross-functional transformation office under a so-called chief total delivered cost (TdC) officer empowered to make cost-cutting decisions.
At the identical time, Nissan is temporarily halting all advanced and post-FY26 product activities and shifting 3,000 of its workforce towards cost reduction initiatives. It’s going to also reevaluate its supply chain, ordering more parts from fewer vendors to eliminate inefficiencies.
It’s not quite all doom and gloom, because a part of this cost-cutting plan also includes shortening its vehicles’ development lead time to 37 months (and every subsequent “family vehicle’s” to simply 30 months), ensuring no delays to product launches despite pausing development. It will go hand in hand with a 70% reduction in parts complexity and cutting the variety of platforms from 13 to 7 by FY35.
Nissan also teased three latest models developed under this process that weren’t divulged through the latest model onslaught in March, including a world C-segment SUV, an Infiniti compact SUV and, most intriguingly, an all-new Skyline. It’s unclear if the latter will likely be a direct alternative for the prevailing sedan or morph into one more crossover, identical to the brand new Leaf (and the Skyline’s competitor, the Toyota Crown).
In fact, the brand new Skyline mustn’t be confused with the next-generation GT-R, development of which is reportedly still ongoing. Nissan added that it would complement its global product lineup with products from its three way partnership with Dongfeng, equivalent to the brand new N7 and Frontier Pro – each of which have already been confirmed for exports.
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This Article First Appeared At paultan.org