Nissan will close its flagship Oppama Plant by March 2028, the automaker announced Tuesday, as it begins the process of paring back production in a bid to survive. The Re:Nissan recovery plan eventually will see seven of 17 Nissan assembly plants shut down, with 20,000 jobs eliminated. More from Headlight.News.
In what its CEO is describing as a “tough but necessary decision,” Nissan announced Tuesday that it will close its flagship Oppama Plant, a facility that has been in operation since 1961, eliminating 2,400 jobs in the process.
“It wasn’t easy easy – for me or for the company,” new Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa said of the move. The factory, located in the Oppama district about 200 miles from Tokyo.
But it is just one of seven out of Nissan’s current global network of 17 assembly plants set to be shut down by the end of fiscal-year 2027 – which ends in March 2028 – as part of the Re:Nissan recovery plan.
End of the line in Oppama
The Re:Nissan plan announced earlier this year, updating an earlier turnaround effort announced by Espinosa’s predecessor, Makoto Uchida. Among other things, it has increased the number of assembly lines that will be shuttered while doubling the cuts in the Nissan workforce to 20,000 by early 2028.
That includes about 2,400 employees who will be impacted in Oppama. The factory has already seen a number of cuts in production, with models like the Micra, Cube and Leaf either dropped from the line-up or moved to other factories. Currently, it is down to just the little Nissan Note and Note Aura micro-minicars. They will now be assembled at a Nissan plant in the southern Japanese prefecture of Fukuoka.
Over the past 64 years, Oppama had produced a total of 17.8 million vehicles.
It may yet have a future with Nissan, however, the automaker saying it’s exploring a “wide range of options.” It did not identify what any of those are. And, while the Oppama Plant is closing, other adjacent operations, including an R&D center, wharf and proving ground are expected to remain open.
More cuts to come
Nissan previously had disclosed only a handful of details about its planned factory closures, identifying two facilities in Southeast Asia.
Along with the Oppama Plant, it said Tuesday, it also will end light commercial truck plant in Shonan. That factory is operated as part of the Nissan Shotai joint venture.
When the various plant closures are completed by early 2028 Nissan expects to have its global production capacity reduce to 2.5 million, down from the current capacity of 3.5 million. That will position it as third among Japanese automakers, slipping behind domestic rival Honda Motor Co.
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“Significant pain”
“Today’s announcement marks a restructure that comes with significant pain,” The 46-year-old Espinosa said at Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. “However, I firmly believe that carrying through with these actions is essential to overcoming the current situation and returning to a path of growth.”
Espinosa said the two plants impacted by Tuesday’s announcement will be the only ones Nissan will cut in Japan.
He also said the company has yet to decide whether to transfer affected employees to other Nissan facilities or to have them retained by any company that might purchase the two facilities.
Espinosa plans to outline the costs – and eventual savings – of the plant closures on July 30 at Nissan’s annual shareholders meeting.
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