New report Nissan’s plans to cut production and jobs in the U.S. as the Japanese automaker continues to try to cling to life.
A new report suggests Nissan is preparing a supersized order of job and production cuts to help it survive.
With Nissan planning to enter merger talks with Honda and the company doing whatever it can to survive, it’s no secret that times are tough at the company. Bloated vehicle inventories and problems of its own making have driven it to its knees as Nissan continues to embark on more cost-cutting measures.
A new report confirms they will include cutting production in the U.S. with the reduced production load being accompanied by job cuts as Nissan attempts to reduce its workforce to further cut down on runaway costs and expenditures.
Job cuts on the horizon
The job cuts could impact U.S. plants with reductions in production being accompanied by a reduction in head count.
The report first surfaced on the Japanese publication Yomiuri Shimbun Online with the report claiming Nissan is ready to shed 2,000 factory workers by the end of the year. The news isn’t unexpected as Nissan first pledged in November 2024 to cut 9,000 jobs worldwide, with 70% of those in its production operations. Up to 20% of Nissan’s global production could be cut along with the people
These changes will translate to the company potentially cutting production lines at its two plants in Smyrna, Tennessee, and Canton, Mississippi with the existing four lines being chopped in half to two each. This combined cut would add up to 25% with the Smyrna plant potentially being hit first before Canton in terms of cuts. Canton makes the Altima and Frontier but cuts at the Smyrna plant would be more significant with that facility making the Murano, Pathfinder, and Rogue along with the Infiniti QX60.
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Tariffs could kill off Nissan
Tariffs could also end up crippling Nissan since the bulk of its vehicles are imported in from Mexico.
In addition to the cost-cutting measures, Nissan also faces a new threat from Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Nissan has always prided itself as being a value brand but the bulk of the vehicles it sells are imported from Mexico. Nissan would have to raise the price on these imported vehicles to maintain a reasonable amount of profit.
However, this move would effectively torpedo sales and put more pressure on Nissan while also give Honda cold feet in regards to the merger with the tariff-related destruction of imported vehicle sales being a key driving force in them backing out of the merger before it has a chance to gain steam and momentum.
They went downhill when they sued Carlos Ghosn.