Nissan sought to delay payments to suppliers and plans to reduce 250 jobs in its British factory, while the Japanese automaker advances with restructuring measures to overcome a financial crisis.
The producer of Rogue, Leaf and Qashqai models based in Yokohama said on Monday that some parts suppliers had been invited to accept delayed payment with interest, which would support the short -term cash flows of the company.
The automaker also plans to reduce the workforce of 250 people in its Sunderland factory in northern England thanks to a voluntary redundancy system as part of a global push to reduce 20,000 positions.
Nissan insisted that its cash and its credit lines of 2.2 TN ¥ ($ 15 billion) are robust enough to implement job cuts and factories, but the latest measures should strengthen the concerns of investors concerning its financial situation.
The company has planned cash flow available negative so that its automotive activity extends from 243 billion yen at the end of March to 550 billion yen at the end of June.
“With their all agreement, we have prompted some of our precious suppliers to collaborate according to more flexible payment conditions, at no cost for them, in order to support the available cash flows,” the company said in a press release.
Nissan's decision to consolidate his position in cash has been reported for the first time by Reuters. It is not uncommon in the automotive industry to request delays in payment from suppliers.
The measures are part of a radical recovery plan launched by the new managing director of Nissan, Ivan Espinosa, which consists in closing seven factories out of 17 and accelerating the decision -making of the company.
Sunderland is unlikely to be one of the factories to close. The reduction of 250 positions is compared to 6,000 jobs at the factory and aims to increase efficiency.
“In order to support future competitiveness, this week, we are starting discussions with part of our team in Sunderland on the advisability of voluntarily leaving Nissan,” said the company. “Our Sunderland factory remains at the forefront of our electrification strategy.”
The group has planned an operating loss of 200 billion yen in the three months ending in June and reported that the high restructuring costs will lead to another year of losses.
The figures published last week have shown that Nissan sales maintained their downward trajectory in May, sliding from 6% to around 256,000 units worldwide.
Additional American prices on imports of 25% cars after Donald Trump entered the White House worsened pain for Nissan and other Japanese car manufacturers.
Trump told Fox News on Sunday that he was determined to maintain prices on Japanese cars due to the small number of vehicles exported from the United States to the second Asian economy.
