Nissan Motor Co. said Thursday it will offer early retirement to administrative employees at five domestic factories starting in September 2026 [1].
The move signals a drastic attempt to stabilize the company's finances after a prolonged period of poor sales and severe financial losses. This restructuring is part of a broader management recovery plan to address the company's declining profitability.
According to the company, the initiative targets administrative staff across five specific locations [1]. These include the Tochigi plant, the Oppama plant in Kanagawa Prefecture, the Nissan Motor Kyushu completed vehicle plant, the Iwaki plant in Fukushima Prefecture, and the Yokohama plant [2].
The workforce reduction is extensive, with the company planning to cut 20,000 people [1]. This decision follows two consecutive years of massive deficits [1]. The total losses over that period exceeded 500 billion yen [1].
Nissan said the recruitment for early retirement is scheduled to begin in September 2026 [1]. The company has not detailed the specific financial packages offered to employees who choose to leave, but the scale of the cuts suggests a significant shift in the company's operational structure.
The domestic plants involved are critical to Nissan's supply chain. Reducing administrative overhead at these hubs is intended to lower fixed costs while the company attempts to pivot its sales strategy to recover from the recent slump [2].
“Nissan plans to cut 20,000 positions.”
Nissan's decision to target administrative roles at five major domestic plants indicates a strategic shift toward leaner operations to combat systemic sales failures. By eliminating 20,000 positions, the company is attempting to aggressively reduce its burn rate to offset the 500 billion yen in losses, suggesting that previous cost-cutting measures were insufficient to stabilize the business.
