Nissan will close its Barcelona manufacturing facility in December to cut costs and recover from COVID-19 impact
Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. is not going through the best of times due to disrupting sales and growing losses brought about by the outbreak of COVID-19. Earlier this month, the company had announced its plans to exit European markets in a bid to concentrate more on the US, Japan and China; where it does relatively better on the sales chart. To initiate the process, Nissan has to make a strategic resource cut that would claim the jobs of several employees. However, Nissan says that this is not a desperate move to bring down expenditure but to achieve “pricing, power and profitability” in the three markets mentioned above.
Datsun, a subsidiary of Nissan, is also undergoing some major tensions in the key developing markets it plays. While Datsun India is ready with the redi-GO BS6, Datsun Indonesia is on its way to being discontinued altogether. On the other hand, Nissan India has got only two products in its portfolio at present (Kicks BS6 and GT-R) and is working on an all-new subcompact crossover.
All across the world, Nissan is continuing its restructuring initiatives. Spain is the latest market that comes under the move and as a result, Nissan has decided to close its manufacturing facility in Zona Franca, Barcelona. A rough estimate says that this will take the jobs of 2,800 employees and indirectly affect the employment of over 20,000. Below is a video by The Telegraph on the same:
Outrage has spread among the workers who then took it to the streets. Hundreds of Nissan Barcelona plant employees gathered together, burned tyres in front of the facility and blocked local streets. The same plant had witnessed a setback earlier in May as news regarding a possible 1/5 workforce-slash fanned out. Like in the case of most nations, the Spanish economy is struggling to cope up with the COVID-19 crisis and the increasing rate of unemployment. Experts state that Nissan’s Barcelona plant closure will deepen the damage.
Considering the present state of affairs, the company would be on its way to an unparalleled amount of losses if demanding decisions are not made. Reports reveal that Nissan Motor Co. underwent a massive net loss of $6.2 billion (~ Rs 47,000 crore) last fiscal.
Amidst all this, Nissan is looking forward to strengthening its partnership with Renault and Mitsubishi in potential markets. Either partner brands have their own set of problems owing to the pandemic. As for the Indian market, sales have not been particularly impressive even in the months well ahead of the outbreak. Is there an impending job cut? Only time will tell.
