Nissan shares slump after unveiling plan to cut jobs, production

TOKYO (Reuters) – Shares in Nissan (OTC:NSANY) Motor slumped as much as 10% in Tokyo trading on Friday after the company said the previous day it will cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global manufacturing capacity as it faces struggling sales in China and the United States.

The decline put the shares on track for their biggest one-day drop since August. Shares last traded down 8.5% at about 375 yen, around their lowest level in four years.

Japan’s third-biggest automaker slashed its annual outlook by 70% on Thursday and scrapped its net profit forecast due to its ongoing restructuring efforts, which it said would cut costs by 400 billion yen ($2.61 billion) this financial year.

Like many foreign automakers, Nissan is struggling in China where BYD (SZ:002594) and other Chinese rivals are rapidly winning market share with affordable electric vehicles and hybrids that are equipped with advanced software.

Nissan is also challenged in the U.S., where it lacks a line-up of petrol-electric hybrid cars – a vehicle type that has enjoyed strong demand.

CEO Makoto Uchida told a press conference on Thursday that Nissan had not foreseen hybrids taking off in the U.S. as quickly as they did.

($1 = 153.2000 yen)