Nissan under Pressure: Stock Price Plummets after Drastic Measures

Major turbulence at Nissan Motor: Shares of Japan’s third-largest automaker suffered a massive drop of up to 10% in Tokyo trading after the company announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs and reduce its global production capacity by 20%. These moves come against the backdrop of stagnant sales in the key markets of China and the USA. This marks the largest single-day decline in the stock since August. Currently, the share price is down 8.5% to around 375 yen – the lowest level in four years. The drastic 70% cut in the annual forecast and the withdrawal of the net profit forecast underscore the serious challenges Nissan faces amid ongoing restructuring. The goal is to reduce costs by 400 billion yen (approximately 2.61 billion USD) this fiscal year. Nissan particularly faces strong competition in the Chinese market from affordable electric vehicles and hybrids from companies like BYD, which boast advanced software. In the USA, Nissan also encounters difficulties. The company does not offer a wide range of gasoline-electric hybrids there – a vehicle type currently in high demand. CEO Makoto Uchida admitted that Nissan underestimated the rapid rise in popularity of hybrids in the USA.