Nissan has announced a significant overhaul of its global operations after posting its largest financial loss in over two decades — a net shortfall of $AU7 billion (¥670.9 billion) for the 2025 fiscal year. The automaker has launched a recovery initiative dubbed ‘Re: Nissan’, led by newly appointed CEO Ivan Espinosa, to stabilise operations to not only ensure the survival of the brand, but also return to profitability by fiscal year 2026.
Job cuts and factory closures
As part of its restructuring, Nissan plans to eliminate 11,000 positions across its global workforce, in addition to the 9,000 job cuts previously confirmed. The roles affected span sales, general administration, R&D, and manufacturing.
The company will also close seven production facilities by the end of the 2027 Japanese financial year, four more than previously announced, leaving only 10 plants in operation globally. Nissan has not disclosed which factories will be affected.
Production of a planned battery manufacturing facility in Kyushu, Japan, has also been cancelled. In parallel, a major overhaul of its existing powertrain manufacturing network is planned as part of the brand’s long-term transition strategy.
Nissan’s woeful financial performance
Nissan’s $AU7 billion loss marks its worst financial result since the early 2000s, when it faced near bankruptcy before a turnaround led by former CEO Carlos Ghosn. The company’s latest report shows that operating profit was down 88 per cent year-on-year, to $AU731 million.
The fiscal report carried a statement from CEO Ivan Espinosa, “We are taking the prudent step to revise our full-year outlook, reflecting a thorough review of our performance and the carrying value of production assets. We now anticipate a significant net loss for the year, due primarily to a major asset impairment and restructuring costs as we continue to stabilize the company. Despite these challenges, we have significant financial resources, a strong product pipeline and the determination to turnaround Nissan in the coming period.”
Speaking to the media, CEO Ivan Espinosa acknowledged the severity of the situation. “It is a very, very painful and sad decision to take,” he told Automotive News.
Cost-saving and efficiency targets
The Re: Nissan plan aims to achieve ¥500 billion ($AU5.2 billion) in cost savings compared to FY2024 performance. Among the key strategies:
- A 20 per cent reduction in R&D cost per hour
- A 70 per cent decrease in parts complexity
- A reduction in vehicle platforms from 13 to seven by 2035
- A cut in new model development time from 37 months to 30 months
In line with these efficiency goals, Nissan has temporarily paused post-2026 new model production activities to reprioritise development expenditure. The company insists that this pause will not delay the launch of affected models.
New model development
Despite the operational cutbacks, Nissan remains committed to launching new models across its core and premium line-ups. A new Nissan Skyline — widely speculated to adopt an SUV format — is under development, alongside a new global mid-size SUV and a compact SUV for Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury marque.
It remains to be seen how these changes will affect the Nissan lineup in Australia and or pricing for popular models like the Patrol SUV and Navara ute.
CEO Ivan Espinosa, who assumed the top role in April 2025, framed the restructuring as a necessary step for long-term resilience. The new appointment came following previous recovery attempts under former CEO Uchida including a scrapped merger with Honda.
“As new management, we are taking a prudent approach to reassess our targets and actively seek every possible opportunity to implement and ensure a robust recovery,” he said in an official statement.
“Re: Nissan is an action-based recovery plan that clearly outlines what we need to do now. All employees are committed to working together as a team to implement this plan, with the goal of returning to profitability by fiscal year 2026.”
Read More: Ivan Espinosa takes the helm at Nissan
Final thoughts
Nissan’s latest restructuring push represents one of the most aggressive cost-saving and operational refocusing efforts in the brand’s modern history. The automaker is betting on a leaner business model, strategic product planning, and faster development cycles to secure its future in a competitive and rapidly evolving global market.
Read More: Ivan Espinosa paves the road ahead for Nissan.
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