Nissan cuts more shifts at Japan car plants due to low demand

19 June 2020 - 10:47 By Reuters
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Nissan is reducing shifts at its Japanese plants due to low product demand.
Nissan is reducing shifts at its Japanese plants due to low product demand.
Image: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Nissan Motor Co on Friday said it would cut more shifts at its three assembly plants in Japan due to falling demand, as the car maker struggles to recover from a drop in sales triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Reuters reported the cuts exclusively earlier on Friday, citing people with direct knowledge of the issue.

In a statement on its website, Nissan sad it would cancel all night shifts at one of its production sites in Kyushu, southern Japan, from June 29 to July 31. Night shifts at its other Kyushu site would be stopped from July 20 to July 31, it added.

In addition, Nissan would stop output at its plant in Oppama, Kanagawa prefecture, on two days in July, while its factory in Tochigi prefecture will be closed over eight days next month, the statement said.

The car maker's plants are normally closed at weekends.

The people with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters that night shifts at the Oppama plant would also be cancelled from late June.

A spokesperson said there were no night shifts scheduled at the plant at the moment.

Nissan's latest production cuts come as global car makers are reeling from plunging sales amid plant closures in many countries earlier this year to curb the spread of the virus. Nissan has been slashing output at home and abroad since February, beginning in China.

The Japanese car maker is taking a particularly big hit as sales and profitability had been deteriorating before the virus outbreak. Last month it unveiled an aggressive restructuring plan after posting its first annual loss in 11 years.

The latest output cut would be another big hit for its Kyushu plant. Much of the plant's production is exported.

The plant makes the Rogue, Nissan's top-selling SUV crossover model, whose sales have slowed ahead of plans to launch a remodelled version this year.


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