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Japan production will be cut by 70% in May, 43% in June.
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15,000 employees in Japan forced to take 16 days of leave.
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The Coronavirus is hitting all makers, some harder than others.
The COVID-19 world pandemic is taking no prisoners. We’re all, or nearly, affected in one way or another by its effects and it is a strong reason why consumers around the globe are not buying new cars. Some manufacturers are harder-hit than others and one of these seems to be Nissan. They will have to further idle some plants well into June.
The Japanese automaker was already struggling with declining sales and loss of market share globally, including the US. Just ahead of the pandemic, Nissan’s CEO, Makoto Uchida, was preparing to launch a major restructuring plan as of this May.
The new plan, forced by the pandemic, will be to cut auto production by 70% in May and 43% in June, in Japan. The Tochigi vehicle plant, which was closed for much of April and produces the Skyline sedan and some Infiniti models, will remain closed for most of May. Furthermore, Nissan will close its headquarters in Yokohama and main R&D centre and send up to 15,000 employees home for three weeks.
Meanwhile, Toyota has cut its domestic production by 40% in April and Honda has had no choice to halt some of its production because of issues with its global supply chain.
