Nissan Begins Layoff Talks at European Regional Offices

According to foreign media reports, internal company documents and emails show that troubled Japanese automaker Nissan has begun negotiations with the union at its European regional office, Nissan Automotive Europe, regarding layoffs.

Nissan Motor has confirmed this matter and is currently undertaking a large-scale restructuring. It is reported that Nissan's European regional office is located in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France, with approximately 560 employees.

Insiders revealed that Nissan's European regional office is about to undergo significant restructuring, and this office is also responsible for Nissan's business operations in Africa, the Middle East, India, and Oceania.

Documents obtained by Reuters show that Nissan management and the labor union have reached a consensus to prioritize discussions on voluntary resignation schemes before implementing any mandatory layoffs. According to the documents and email content, the negotiations are expected to be completed by October 20 this year, with specific details to be announced to employees in November.

Massimiliano Messina, Vice Chairman of Nissan Europe, stated in an email on July 31: "We are working diligently and respectfully with all parties to ensure that this process is conducted in a prudent and transparent manner, in compliance with legal requirements." At the same time, Massimiliano Messina emphasized that the company has not yet made any final decisions.

Since taking office as CEO of Nissan Motor in April this year, Ivan Espinosa has announced a comprehensive restructuring plan, including cutting about 15% of the workforce, reducing global production capacity by nearly 30% to 2.5 million units, and shrinking the number of production bases from 17 to 10. Due to poor sales performance in the Chinese and U.S. markets, coupled with pressures from previous expansion strategies, Nissan hopes to save 500 billion yen (approximately 3.4 billion U.S. dollars) through the restructuring plan.

The latest developments indicate that Nissan announced last week that it will close the Civac pickup truck plant in Mexico in March next year. It also plans to cease car production at its Oppama plant in Japan by March 2028 and will close its manufacturing subsidiary Nissan Shatai's Shonan plant in Japan by March 2027.

According to the diversity report released in October 2024, Nissan employs nearly 19,000 people in the regions of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, and Oceania, with nearly 60% of them located in Europe.

However, sales data show that Nissan faces challenges in the European market. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), in the first half of this year, Nissan's passenger car registrations in the EU, the UK, and the European Free Trade Association fell by 5.2% year-on-year to 167,301 units, with a market share of 2.5%.

Leaf; Image source: Nissan Motor Corporation

To boost its European operations, Nissan plans to launch several new models, including the all-new Micra compact car, the Leaf electric compact crossover, the new Juke small SUV, and a microcar based on the Renault Twingo platform.