Nissan Motor Co, Japan’s third-largest automaker, will cut 20,000 jobs after predicting a loss this fiscal year as the recession cripples vehicle demand and a stronger yen cuts the value of earnings.
Nissan expects a net loss of ¥265 billion (US$2.91 billion) for the year ending March 31, compared with its October estimate of ¥160 billion in net income. It will post an operating loss of ¥180 billion, down from an earlier forecast of ¥270 billion.
Nissan’s sales in the US last month, its biggest market, plunged 31 percent as demand for its Altima sedans and Xterra sport-utility vehicles dried up amid the highest unemployment since 1992.
PHOTO: AFP
“The economic storm is wreaking havoc on everyone,” said Yuuki Sakurai, general manager of financial and investment planning at Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co in Tokyo. “Things could get even worse.”
Car sales in the US have sunk to the lowest level since the early 1980s, forcing General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC to seek government aid. Nissan, alone among Japan’s automakers, is also asking for a federal loan under a US program for fuel-efficient autos.
Chief executive Carlos Ghosn has called for government aid for automakers. The company may apply to Japan’s government for low-interest loans as sales in its home market collapse.
Industry-wide sales in Japan fell the most in 35 years last month. The country is headed for its worst postwar recession as factory output slumped an unprecedented 9.6 percent in December and unemployment surged.
Nissan, 44.3 percent owned by Renault SA, posted a net loss of ¥83.2 billion for the quarter ended December. The firm was expected to lose ¥129 billion in the third quarter, a median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg showed.
Nissan fell 5.8 percent to ¥261 at the close of trading in Tokyo before the earnings announcement.
The company is cutting Japan production by an additional 64,000 vehicles this month and next month, it said on Jan. 15. With the reduction, Nissan’s domestic production will total about 1.1 million vehicles for the year ending March 31.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a