Latest news with #Kanagawa
The Independent
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Nissan to close flagship factory with 3,900 workers to cut costs
Nissan is closing its flagship factory in Oppama, Japan, to cut costs and moving all its production there to another plant in southwestern Japan. Vehicle production at the Oppama plant in Kanagawa Prefecture south of Tokyo, will end at the end of the 2027 fiscal year, in March 2028, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday in a statement. After that, all models that had been made or scheduled for production at Oppama will be made at Nissan Motor Kyushu, in Fukuoka Prefecture. The Oppama plant has been a prized symbol for Nissan Motor Corp., which rolled out its Leaf electric car there in 2010, ahead of key rivals. When the Oppama factory opened in 1961, it was one of Japan's first large-scale auto factories and a symbol of Nissan's - and Japan's - global ambitions. Long referred to as Nissan's "mother factory", it employs 3,900 workers and has produced more than 17.8 million vehicles to date. The plant's closure was expected, as the maker of the Infiniti luxury models and March subcompact has said repeatedly that it is restructuring its operations to boost its profitability, including by consolidating production sites. Nissan, based in the port city of Yokohama, says the tariff policies of President Donald Trump have hurt its bottom line. Earlier this year, Nissan said it was slashing about 15% of its global work force, or about 20,000 employees, which would include a 9,000 head count reduction announced late last year, including in China. The company has been racking up losses, hurt by slipping vehicle sales in China and elsewhere, huge restructuring costs and ballooning inventories. Earlier this year, Nissan said it's reducing the number of its auto plants to 10 from 17 to 'create a leaner, more resilient business.' At that time, it didn't say which plants were being closed but confirmed the closures will include factories in Japan. It's also reducing production capacity to 2.5 million units from 3.5 million. Nissan racked up a loss of 670.9 billion yen ($4.5 billion) for the fiscal year through March, down from a 426.6 billion yen profit recorded in the previous fiscal year. Its chief executive, Ivan Espinosa, took up the post in April and was set to speak to reporters later Tuesday. He replaced Makoto Uchida, who stepped down to take responsibility for the faltering results. Additional reporting from Reuters.
NHK
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- NHK
Nissan to cease auto production at mainstay plant in Japan
Japanese automobile manufacture Nissan Motor has announced that it will cease vehicle production at its mainstay Oppama plant near Tokyo as part of its restructuring efforts. The struggling Japanese automaker said on Tuesday that production at Oppama in Kanagawa Prefecture will be halted at the end of March 2028. Nissan also said it would transfer production to facilities run by the company's unit in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan. It said the research center, the crash test site and other facilities on the plant's compound will be retained and will continue to operate as before. The carmaker said it will consider a wide range of options on how to utilize the plant in the future. To achieve its restructuring target, Nissan earlier announced that it will cut its group-wide payroll by 20,000 workers and reduce the number of factories by seven in and outside Japan. Nissan President and CEO Ivan Espinosa told reporters: "It was a difficult decision for both myself and the company. However, we believe it is necessary for Nissan to overcome its current challenging situation and return to our growth trajectory." The Oppama plant, which began operation in 1961, rolled out many of Nissan's signature models, such as the Bluebird and the March. However, in the face of slumping business in recent years, the plant's low operation rate was posing a major challenge. The plant currently employs around 2,400 people. Nissan said it will retain the workforce until the end of March 2028 and notify workers as soon as the company comes up with specific future plans. Nissan said vehicle production will also be terminated at a Nissan subsidiary's Shonan plant near Tokyo. Espinosa said, "There will be no other reduction or consolidation of vehicle production sites in Japan." He added Nissan will announce any decision on the closure of overseas production bases at the appropriate time.
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Times
Nissan to end production at one of Japan's first large-scale car plants
Nissan unveiled plans to end production after almost seven decades at the first car plant in Japan to use robots, just days before a crunch election in the world's fourth-largest economy. The Japanese carmaker said on Tuesday that it would close the Oppama factory if it failed to find a buyer by the time production ceases in March 2028, marking the end of an era for one of Japan's most renowned car plants that has produced almost 18mn vehicles. 'We understand this is a very, very painful thing to go through,' said Nissan's new chief executive Ivan Espinosa, who is trying to turn around the struggling automaker. The plant 'helped shape Nissan's identity and has created numerous vehicles cherished by customers around the world', he added. The announcement comes as part of Espinosa's sweeping restructuring plan to cut 20,000 jobs and rationalise its global production network down from 17 to 10 plants. READ MORE The decision comes at a sensitive time for Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba as the nation goes to the polls on Sunday in an upper house election viewed as pivotal to determining his survival. The plant is located in Kanagawa, a key prefecture for heavyweight politicians in Japan such as former prime minister Yoshihide Suga and agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, whose seat is near the plant. [ The secrets behind the new Nissan Leaf's style: 'Hopefully it's a pleasant shock' Opens in new window ] Mr Koizumi met with Mr Espinosa soon after the restructuring plan was announced in May and publicly criticised the company for stoking worries among employees because of a lack of details around factory closures. The closure of a large-scale car plant in Japan marks the latest transfer of power in the global automotive industry from once dominant Japanese companies to ascendant Chinese electric vehicles (EV) rivals. The Juggle: the issues facing women with young children when balancing childcare and their careers Listen | 44:30 The Oppama factory employs 2,400 people but has suffered from woeful utilisation rates at around 40 per cent. By consolidating production in Nissan's Kyushu plant, Mr Espinosa aims to get operating rates up to 100 per cent and save 15 per cent of costs across its Japan operations. Opened in the early 1960s, Oppama helped power Nissan's rise to a global automotive powerhouse in the postwar period as one of Japan's first large-scale production sites and the first auto plant in the country to use welding robots in 1970. Local media reports said that iPhone supplier Foxconn was in talks with Nissan over Oppama but Mr Espinosa denied that there were active discussions about a joint venture or contract manufacturing arrangement for the plant. 'We are considering a sale of the assets or a repurposing of the land,' Espinosa said. Oppama is the third plant affected by Nissan's restructuring plans, with the car group halting production in Argentina and handing its India operations over to alliance partner Renault. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
Washington Post
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Nissan to close its Oppama plant in Japan to cut costs
TOKYO — Nissan is closing its flagship factory in Oppama, Japan, to cut costs and moving all its production there to another plant in southwestern Japan. Vehicle production at the Oppama plant in Kanagawa Prefecture south of Tokyo, will end at the end of the 2027 fiscal year, in March 2028, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday in a statement.
Al Arabiya
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Al Arabiya
Nissan to close its Oppama plant in Japan to cut costs
Nissan is closing its flagship factory in Oppama, Japan, to cut costs and moving all its production there to another plant in southwestern Japan. Vehicle production at the Oppama plant in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, will end at the end of the 2027 fiscal year in March 2028, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday in a statement. After that, all models that had been made or scheduled for production at Oppama will be made at Nissan Motor Kyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture. The Oppama plant has been a prized symbol for Nissan Motor Corp., which rolled out its Leaf electric car there in 2010 ahead of key rivals. The plant's closure was expected as the maker of the Infiniti luxury models and March subcompact has said repeatedly that it is restructuring its operations to boost its profitability, including by consolidating production sites. Nissan, based in the port city of Yokohama, says the tariff policies of President Donald Trump have hurt its bottom line. Earlier this year, Nissan said it was slashing about 15 percent of its global work force, or about 20,000 employees, which would include a 9,000 head count reduction announced late last year, including in China. The company has been racking up losses hurt by slipping vehicle sales in China and elsewhere, huge restructuring costs, and ballooning inventories. Earlier this year, Nissan said it's reducing the number of its auto plants to 10 from 17 to create a leaner, more resilient business. At that time, it didn't say which plants were being closed but confirmed the closures will include factories in Japan. It's also reducing production capacity to 2.5 million units from 3.5 million. Nissan racked up a loss of 670.9 billion yen (4.5 billion) for the fiscal year through March, down from a 426.6 billion yen profit recorded in the previous fiscal year. Its chief executive, Ivan Espinosa, took up the post in April and was set to speak to reporters later Tuesday. He replaced Makoto Uchida, who stepped down to take responsibility for the faltering results.
