Nissan Motor plans to cut around 1,000 jobs in Thailand, according to unconfirmed local reports, as part of a global restructuring plan announced earlier this month involving 9,000 job cuts worldwide - after the Japanese automaker posted much worse-than-expected financial results for the half-year period ending in September 2024.

Nissan to cut 9,000 jobs globally

Nissan has lost significant market share in southeast Asia in the last several years and has been shrinking its manufacturing base in the region to reduce overcapacity. Rising competition from Chinese automakers in the last two years has accelerated this decline.

According to the local reports, citing unnamed sources, Nissan plans to partially stop production at its Plant No. 1 and consolidate production at its Plant No. 2 by September 2025.

A company spokesperson confirmed that while “partial consolidation” is underway at its Thai plants, this is to upgrade manufacturing equipment and that the company has no plans to permanently close one of its two vehicle assembly plants in the country, adding “the Plant No. 1 continues to operate as a major production site in Thailand."

Nissan’s two Thai plants are located in Samut Prakan province. Plant No. 1 has an annual production capacity of 220,000 units while Plant No. 2 can make up to 150,000 units. Together they produced around 102,000 vehicles last year, with local sales amounting to just 16,420 units.

Nissan reported separately that it expects around 6% of its US workforce, or some 1,000 employees, to leave by the end of the year after accepting the company’s early retirement plan. As of the end of March 2024, the company employed around 17,000 people in the US.