Struggling Nissan plans to slash 20,000 jobs globally

The job cuts under the new plan represent about 15 percent of Nissan's total workforce. The company is set to report its earnings for the fiscal year ended March on Tuesday, with attention focused on the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's higher auto tariffs.

The automaker is also considering closing one of its domestic factories as part of efforts to optimize production capacity amid declining sales, the source said.

In November, Nissan announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs in Japan and overseas and to reduce its global production capacity by 20 percent by fiscal 2026, as its businesses in the United States and China continued to struggle.

In February, it said it also plans to close a Thai plant and two other factories without giving details.

Nissan currently operates five vehicle assembly plants in Japan, with former CEO Makoto Uchida previously expressing a commitment to keeping domestic factories in operation.

The plan to close a domestic plant is expected to draw strong opposition from labor unions and other stakeholders, likely making coordination difficult.

Last month, the automaker projected a net loss of 700 billion yen ($4.7 billion) to 750 billion yen for fiscal 2024 due to restructuring costs, which would be the company's biggest-ever annual net loss.

Nissan has been reviewing its investment strategy under CEO Ivan Espinosa, who assumed Nissan's top post on April 1.

It said last week it has abandoned a plan to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Fukuoka Prefecture, only a few months after signing a pact with local governments over the envisioned facility.

Nissan sought to merge operations with rival Honda Motor Co., but their negotiations broke down in February after Honda's proposal to make Nissan its subsidiary riled the Yokohama-based automaker's board.