Nissan announces more huge cost-cutting measures as it tries to find billions in savings to fund new hybrid and electric cars to fend off Chinese EV rivals BYD and Geely after failed Honda merger

Nissan's global CEO Ivan Espinosa has pulled no punches in imposing sweeping cost-cutting measures to get the ailing Japanese carmaker's bottom line back on track.

On Tuesday, the brand announced it would cut 11,000 more jobs, close seven factories and pause new car development beyond 2026 as it tries to find 500 billion yen (A$5.2 billion) in cost savings.

It comes as Nissan's latest financial earnings revealed a net loss of 670.9 billion yen (A$7 billion) in the 12 months to March 2025. 

Espinosa, who took over Nissan in April after talks of a potential merger with Honda collapsed, spoke candidly of the once-dominant carmaker’s dire financial situation.

"Our full-year financial results are a wake-up call. The reality is very clear. Our variable costs are rising. Our fixed costs are higher than our current revenue can support," Espinosa told a press conference in Tokyo.

The measures will ultimately reduce Nissan’s global work force to 20,000 after it announced 9000 job cuts in November, while the number of factories it operates globally will be reduced to 10. It is unclear at this stage which factories will be closed.

Pausing vehicle development beyond 2026 will mobilise 3000 staff members to focus on cost reduction initiatives, which the brand said was made possible already by swift reductions in vehicle development time.

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No changes have been made to the release of the next-generation Nissan Leaf, Ariya, Y63 Patrol or Navara, all of which are expected in Australian showrooms by next year.

Espinosa has made cutting development times and production costs for new hybrid and electric vehicles key priorities for Nissan as it loses sales in the US and China to more powertrain-diverse rivals, including China's fast-moving BYD and Geely.

A new product strategy, outlined in the brand’s ‘Re:Nissan plan’, will see parts complexity reduced by 70 per cent, while the integration of platforms will see the number it is required to build fall from 13 to seven by 2035.

New vehicle development times will be reduced from an initial period of 37 months to 30 months for future models such as an all-new Nissan Skyline, the future global C SUV and a new compact Infiniti SUV for North America.

In Australia, Nissan's sales have fallen 16.5 per cent (14,363 sales) to April compared to the same period last year (17,198 sales).