Nissan is currently in the midst of an aggressive restructuring plan to help address declining sales and operational deficiencies. Cost-cutting strategies have included production capping and plant closures, necessitating a sizable number of layoffs. However, the company is now reportedly considering selling its Japanese headquarters.
According to Nikkei Asia, the facility was placed on a list of assets that Nissan is considering selling before March 2026 to free up its finances. The automakers suffered an operating loss of 670 billion yen (about $4.7 billion USD) last year. The asset sales were something that was previously announced by the brand’s new Spanish CEO, Ivan Espinosa. The building was not explicitly mentioned, however.
The site has served as the brand’s head office since the 2000s, after ex-CEO Carlos Ghosn suggested the brand should leave Tokyo to reconnect with his historical home. Still, many believed relocating doubly served to reduce overhead during a period where the business was primarily focused on volume and reducing operating costs in the wake of its partnership with Renault.
Japan’s NHK has likewise suggested that the Yokohama-based world headquarters may soon be up for sale at an assumed valuation of 100 billion yen (nearly $700 million USD).
That’s a lot of money but only a small fraction of what the automaker hopes to save by shoring up operations. Nissan has suggested that it’ll lose about 20,000 employees over the next several years, representing about 15 percent of its workforce. Most of these cuts are alleged to pertain to operations in Asia, as sales in China have not been nearly as robust as anticipated. But the layoffs will hardly be limited to any singular region.
It’s also pivoting away from development on numerous models that leadership is concerned may not be big sellers and slashing its R&D budget. The assumption is that there will be more badge-engineering between partners at Renault and Mitsubishi, with Nissan focusing exclusively on pouring money into models it believes will be volume leaders. The same will presumably be true for its Chinese partnership with Dongfeng.
While Nissan’s situation looks rather dire on the surface, it needs to be said that practically every automaker under the sun has been engaging in similar practices in recent years. Industry layoffs have become fairly common as many automakers are seeking to reduce costs by trimming operations and outsourcing labor. General Motors has even suggested that it may soon leave the Detroit Renaissance Center, which served as its headquarters since 1996. The rationale behind the decision is that GM simply doesn’t have enough office workers on site to fill the space anymore, allegedly making the requisite maintenance of such a large building something of a financial boondoggle.
Considering that assumed sales trajectory for the industry at large is likewise not looking super promising, it may be wise for most automakers to downsize. That certainly seemed to work out well for companies ahead of the 2008 recession, with those failing to trim the fat in advance of market collapse being forced to beg for government assistance.
[Image: RYO Alexandre/Shutterstock.com]
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