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Short answer: On May 12, 2025, Reuters reported that Japan’s NHK said Nissan planned to cut more than 10,000 additional jobs worldwide. Combined with the 9,000 reductions Nissan announced in November 2024, that would bring the company’s planned workforce reduction to approximately 20,000 employees—about 15% of its workforce.
This was not an announcement of 10,000 U.S. layoffs. The reported cuts were global, although weak sales in the United States and China were identified as major reasons for Nissan’s restructuring. Nissan’s recovery plan, announced the following day, also called for reducing its manufacturing footprint from 17 plants to 10 by fiscal 2027.
What Nissan actually announced
The wording around Nissan’s job cuts is easy to misunderstand because two different numbers describe two stages of the same restructuring:
- 9,000 jobs: Nissan announced this initial global workforce reduction on November 7, 2024.
- More than 10,000 additional jobs: Reuters reported on May 12, 2025, citing Japan’s NHK, that Nissan planned another reduction of this size.
- Approximately 20,000 jobs in total: Nissan’s Re:Nissan recovery plan, released on May 13, 2025, set a cumulative workforce-reduction target of 20,000 employees between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2027.
Reuters said Nissan declined to comment on the NHK report when it was published. The next day, however, Nissan’s own Re:Nissan plan established the broader 20,000-person target. That distinction matters: the May 12 report was not a same-day Nissan press release announcing 10,000 U.S. dismissals.
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The 20,000 figure represented about 15% of Nissan’s workforce at the time. Nissan described the plan as a combination of workforce reduction and broader operating changes, including work reformation, shift adjustments, lower capital spending, and manufacturing consolidation. It should not automatically be read as 20,000 involuntary layoffs.
Why weak U.S. sales were part of the problem
Nissan’s business had been under pressure in several major markets, especially the United States and China. The company was dealing with weaker vehicle demand, elevated inventory, reduced sales expectations, and a manufacturing footprint that had become too large for its volume.
The United States is Nissan’s largest market, so changes in American sales and production have an outsized effect on the company’s profitability. But the restructuring was not caused by U.S. sales alone. Nissan’s official financial materials described a wider need to make its manufacturing and operating structure more efficient while restoring automotive profitability and free cash flow.
China added another major challenge. Nissan faced intense competition and changing consumer preferences in the Chinese market, including rapid growth by domestic electric-vehicle manufacturers. The company’s later strategy continued to identify Japan, the United States, and China as priority markets, but it assigned them different roles: the United States was described as a scale and profitability engine, while the company continued adjusting its product, pricing, and market approach.
What happened at Nissan’s U.S. facilities?
Nissan’s U.S. operations were affected before the May 2025 report. In January 2025, the company disclosed production reductions and offered buyouts to some U.S. factory workers.
The facilities involved in the reported production changes included:
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- Smyrna, Tennessee, Nissan’s major vehicle assembly plant;
- Canton, Mississippi, another vehicle-production facility; and
- Decherd, Tennessee, where Nissan produces engines and related components.
Those measures included shift consolidation or slower production, depending on the facility and operating needs. They were part of the company’s effort to align factory output with lower demand and reduce costs.
That is different from saying Nissan eliminated 10,000 jobs in the United States. The 20,000-person workforce target was global, and the U.S. production changes were one part of a restructuring that also affected Nissan’s operations in Japan and other regions.
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Re:Nissan called for Nissan to reduce its global manufacturing footprint from 17 plants to 10 by fiscal 2027. The company said the consolidation should raise utilization at the remaining facilities and reduce excess capacity.
Nissan’s analyst-session materials indicated that six of the seven planned plant consolidations were expected during fiscal 2026, with the remaining consolidation scheduled for the following fiscal year. One specifically identified site was the Oppama plant in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Nissan later said vehicle production there would end at the close of fiscal 2027, in March 2028.
The plant plan is significant because it shows that Nissan’s response was not limited to reducing payroll. The company was attempting to shrink the physical structure behind its vehicle business as well—factories, shifts, production capacity, and capital investment.
Nissan’s earlier November 2024 restructuring
The May 2025 report followed a major announcement in November 2024. On November 7, Nissan said it would:
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- reduce its global workforce by 9,000 employees;
- cut global production capacity by 20%;
- lower its vehicle-sales forecast; and
- take steps to reduce costs and improve its operating structure.
At the time, contemporary reporting pointed to sinking sales, rising inventory, and weakness in North America. Nissan’s production reductions and buyout offers in the United States were subsequently disclosed in January 2025.
The additional reduction reported in May therefore represented an escalation of an existing turnaround plan, not an isolated action triggered by one month of U.S. sales data.
The financial pressure behind the job cuts
Nissan’s fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, produced a net loss of approximately ¥670.9 billion, or about $4.5 billion at the exchange rate used in contemporaneous reporting. Nissan attributed the difficult period to declining vehicle sales, restructuring costs, and the need to make its manufacturing and operating footprint more efficient.
The company’s FY2025 securities report provides a more nuanced picture than a single headline loss. Nissan’s revenue performance was below its target, while some operating-profit and automotive-free-cash-flow measures exceeded their targets. That combination supports viewing the restructuring as a response to weak sales and profitability pressure, rather than as a reaction to U.S. sales alone.
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Does the 20,000-job target mean 20,000 people were already gone?
No. The announcement described a target covering fiscal 2024 through fiscal 2027. It did not establish that all 20,000 positions had already disappeared, nor did it provide a final breakdown of dismissals, voluntary buyouts, attrition, transfers, or other workforce changes.
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Nissan’s company overview lists 120,079 employees as of March 31, 2026. That figure is useful as a later head-count snapshot, but it cannot by itself be used to calculate how many of the announced reductions were completed. A proper reconciliation would need to account for the starting employee count, normal attrition, hiring, transfers, buyouts, plant changes, and the definition of employees used in each reporting period.
Accordingly, the most accurate description is that Nissan planned or targeted a cumulative reduction of approximately 20,000 positions through fiscal 2027. It would be too strong to say that Nissan had already completed 20,000 layoffs without a company reconciliation confirming that number.
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| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| November 7, 2024 | Nissan announced a 9,000-person global workforce reduction and a 20% cut in global production capacity after weak results and lower sales expectations. |
| January 30, 2025 | Nissan disclosed production reductions and buyout offers at several U.S. facilities, including Smyrna, Canton, and Decherd. |
| May 12, 2025 | Reuters reported NHK’s claim that Nissan planned more than 10,000 additional global job cuts, bringing the total to about 20,000. |
| May 13, 2025 | Nissan announced Re:Nissan, including the cumulative 20,000-person reduction target and a plan to reduce its plant count from 17 to 10 by fiscal 2027. |
| March 31, 2026 | Nissan’s company overview listed 120,079 employees. The number did not independently establish how many announced reductions had been completed. |
| May 13, 2026 | Nissan reported results for fiscal 2025, including a net loss of approximately ¥670.9 billion for the year ended March 31, 2025. |
| August 3, 2026 | Nissan reported a ¥3.8 billion net profit for April–June 2026, compared with a ¥115.8 billion loss in the same quarter of 2025. Quarterly sales rose 9.5% year over year to ¥2.96 trillion, although the company continued to warn about China and Middle East risks. |
Has Nissan recovered?
Not fully. Nissan’s April–June 2026 quarterly profit was an encouraging short-term improvement, but one profitable quarter does not erase the reasons for the restructuring or prove that the entire recovery plan has succeeded.
The company continued to execute Re:Nissan and warn about geopolitical and market risks. Independent 2026 analysis also projected continued pressure on North American revenue and profitability, including the effects of tariffs. Those figures are analyst or consensus estimates rather than Nissan’s audited guidance and should be treated accordingly.
Nissan’s stated strategy has increasingly emphasized selecting the right models, markets, and price points—not merely cutting costs. The United States remains central to that strategy because of its scale and profit potential. The test for the turnaround is whether Nissan can improve sales quality and margins while operating with fewer factories and a smaller cost base.
What the headline should—and should not—mean
Accurate: Nissan planned approximately 20,000 global workforce reductions, including more than 10,000 additional positions reported in May 2025, after weak sales in key markets including the United States and China.
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Inaccurate: Nissan announced 10,000 U.S. layoffs.
The distinction is important for workers, local communities, investors, and anyone trying to understand Nissan’s U.S. manufacturing presence. U.S. plants and employees were affected by lower production and buyout programs, but the headline number described a global restructuring. The plan also extended beyond employment to factory consolidation, production capacity, shifts, capital spending, and Nissan’s overall product and market strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Nissan announce 10,000 layoffs in the United States?
No. The reported and later planned reduction was global. U.S. facilities were affected by production slowdowns, shift changes, and buyout offers, but the 20,000-person cumulative target was not a U.S.-only figure.
How many jobs did Nissan plan to cut?
Nissan’s Re:Nissan plan called for a cumulative workforce reduction of approximately 20,000 employees between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2027. That included the 9,000 reductions announced in November 2024 and more than 10,000 additional positions reported in May 2025.
Which U.S. Nissan plants were affected?
Reported U.S. production changes involved Nissan facilities in Smyrna, Tennessee; Canton, Mississippi; and Decherd, Tennessee. The measures included shift consolidation or slower production, along with buyout offers for some factory workers.
Is Nissan closing all of its factories?
No. Nissan planned to reduce its global manufacturing footprint from 17 plants to 10 by fiscal 2027. The company later identified Oppama in Kanagawa, Japan, as a plant where vehicle production would end at the close of fiscal 2027, in March 2028.
Has Nissan completed all 20,000 job cuts?
The available figures do not establish that. The 20,000 number was a target through fiscal 2027, and Nissan’s later employee total cannot by itself distinguish layoffs from attrition, buyouts, transfers, hiring, or other workforce changes.
The Bottom Line
Nissan’s May 2025 job-cut story was a global restructuring, not a 10,000-person U.S. layoff announcement. The company’s recovery plan targeted approximately 20,000 workforce reductions by fiscal 2027, alongside a reduction from 17 factories to 10. Weak U.S. and Chinese sales helped drive the move, but Nissan’s deeper problem was a broader mismatch between its sales, profitability, production capacity, and operating costs. A profitable quarter in 2026 showed progress, not a completed recovery.
