Business Nissan and Panasonic to cut thousands of workers

The company said in November that it would shrink its global workforce by 9,000, or 7%, and reduce its global production capacity by 20% to 4 million vehicles a year. Nissan has already ended production in some countries, such as India and Argentina, to cut costs, but now sees additional personnel cuts as inevitable. The gap between sales performance and production capacity has widened. Nissan's plant utilisation rate -- which measures the efficiency of production facilities -- in the U.S. was 57.7% in 2024. In China and Japan, the rates were 45.3% and 56.7%, respectively, according to research company GlobalData, which is far below the breakeven point of around 80% for the auto industry. CEO Ivan Espinosa is trying to turn Nissan's business around. He took the helm in April, following the resignation of former President Makoto Uchida, at a time when the company is facing an increasingly challenging business landscape.

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Panasonic Holdings announced that it will cut 10,000 jobs globally, representing around 4% of the group's employees, as part of a significant restructuring across various businesses, including consumer electronics. The Japanese company plans to streamline, spinning out struggling divisions in hopes of reversing its dwindling market share and fending off fierce Chinese competition. The job cuts will affect 5,000 employees in Japan and 5,000 overseas, mainly during the fiscal year ending March 2026. It expects to take a 130 billion yen ($894.6 million) charge against earnings for the restructuring. The company said it aims to improve profitability by consolidating the group's sales departments and back offices. It will also divest from or terminate loss-making businesses. The announcement did not say which business the company intends to shrink.

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