STORY: Japan’s struggling Nissan has started offering buyouts to U.S. workers and suspended merit-based global pay rises.
That’s according to internal emails seen by Reuters.
It comes weeks after the company announced a sweeping cost-cutting plan…
Which includes closing seven global car plants and slashing a total of 20,000 jobs.
An email sent last week showed the automaker’s offered separation packages to workers at its Mississippi plant.
As well as to salaried workers in HR, planning, IT and finance.
Reuters couldn’t determine how many people had been offered buyouts or accepted.
A separate email showed Nissan has also suspended merit-based global pay increases for the current business year.
Cutting U.S. workforce counters President Donald Trump’s aim of creating jobs and boosting domestic manufacturing.
But Nissan’s operating profit margin in North America including the U.S., its biggest market, worsened in the business year ended March.
That’s even as it sold more cars than the year before.
Analysts said the automaker’s troubles include having an ageing line-up and a lack of hybrid models in the U.S.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Nissan’s considering raising $7 billion in funding from debt and asset sales – including a syndicated loan backed by the UK government.
In response, a representative for Nissan said the company does not comment on speculation.
Nissan’s shares rose more than 4% following Bloomberg’s report but they gave up most of those gains later in the day.
