NISSAN



 

Nissan Motor Co on Tuesday said it forecasts a net loss of 200 billion yen for the April-June quarter and apologized for the worsening performance as it faced criticism from shareholders at their annual meeting.

New President and CEO Ivan Espinosa, who took over from Makoto Uchida in April, vowed to return the business to profitability by fiscal 2026 after apologizing for the poor outlook, encumbered by high auto tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

He reiterated restructuring plans that include shuttering seven factories and cutting 20,000 jobs, saying that the company would release the information on which factories would be affected swiftly once decided.

Nissan has been grappling with poor sales in the United States and China, logging a net loss of 670.90 billion yen for fiscal 2024, which ended at the end of March. It initially did not issue an earnings forecast for the current fiscal year.

With Uchida also present at the meeting, shareholders repeatedly questioned his responsibility and expressed indignation at the lack of dividends in contrast to massive payouts to four former executives, including Uchida, for leaving top roles. However, Uchida declined to respond.

"Many demanded answers from Uchida and asked what the point of his attendance was if he was refusing to answer any questions," said Tsuyoshi Maruki, CEO of Strategic Capital Inc, an activist investor.

But he expressed high expectations for Espinosa, noting that he had a calm demeanor despite the tumult of the shareholders meeting, adding, "We'll just have to anticipate good results from now on."

In addition to the job cut and plant closures, Nissan is also reportedly planning to sell its headquarters building in Yokohama to help cover costs.
"I was not convinced by their explanation.

The management was avoiding responsibility," said a 76-year-old shareholder who has driven Nissan vehicles for around 50 years. "They were just putting it all on the workers and firing them."

Nissan and Honda Motor Co revealed in December plans to begin merger talks under a holding company, aiming to share the financial burden of developing electric vehicles and software to better compete with global rivals, but the talks broke down less than two months later.

However, the two automakers, along with Mitsubishi Motors Corp, have continued discussions regarding a possible collaboration on the electrification of automobiles, among other areas.