While Nissan and Honda work out their merger, it appears Thailand will be losing jobs
Nissan is set to cut or transfer around 1,000 jobs in Thailand as part of its broader plan to reduce its global workforce, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday. This decision follows the company’s plan to scale back production in Southeast Asia. As part of this shift, Nissan will partially halt production at its Thailand Plant No. 1, one of two assembly plants in the country, and consolidate operations into Plant No. 2 by September next year.
Although Nissan declined to comment specifically on the job cuts, a company spokesperson confirmed that the consolidation of the plants was part of a process to upgrade equipment. The spokesperson also assured that no plants would be closed, and emphasized that Plant No. 1 would continue to operate as a key production site in Thailand.
Moreover, this move comes after Nissan’s announcement earlier this month of a global workforce reduction plan, which aims to eliminate 9,000 jobs following disappointing half-year earnings. In the United States, Nissan has already seen about 6 percent of its local staff opt for early retirement packages, which will be implemented by the end of the year.
The two Nissan plants in Thailand are located in Samut Prakan province, near Bangkok. Plant No. 1 has a maximum production capacity of approximately 220,000 units, while Plant No. 2 can produce up to 150,000 units. Together, these plants have made Thailand Nissan’s largest production hub in Southeast Asia.
On top of that, sales in Thailand have recently dropped by 30 percent, reaching only around 14,000 units in the past financial year that ended in March. While Japanese automakers like Toyota and Honda have long dominated the Thai automotive market, there has been increasing competition from Chinese companies such as BYD and SAIC, which are quickly expanding their presence with electric vehicle offerings.
Both of Nissan’s Thai plants have also been involved in the production of export models, including the Kicks SUV for other Southeast Asian markets and the Terra SUV for the Middle East and Africa. We got all this from Reuters and their full article is linked here. Thank you Reuters for the information and images.
