Nissan to cut Japan output as sales slump

Tokyo: Nissan Motor Co said yesterday it would cut production in Japan by another 72,000 vehicles over the rest of the business year to next March, in addition to a cut of 65,000 vehicles it announced last month.

Japan's number three automaker said the latest move would be on top of its plan announced two weeks ago to scale back production by 200,000 vehicles globally this year.

A spokeswoman said the latest production cut had been factored into its lowered profit forecasts for 2008/09.

Automakers are reeling from slumping sales in the mature markets of North America, Europe and Japan, while growth has slowed significantly in emerging markets such as India, China and Russia.

Effective from December, Nissan will introduce non-operating days as well as reducing production speeds at its Tochigi and Kyushu plants, to cut production by 14,000 vehicles and 40,000 vehicles, respectively.

It will also cancel four shifts in December at the Oppama factory, which builds smaller cars such as the March, Tiida and Note models, for a total 6,000 units, it said.

The 72,000 units also include a 12,000-vehicle reduction at Nissan Shatai Co, which builds pickup trucks bound for the Middle East market.

As a result, Nissan will also close two engine factories on some days, and halve the number of short-term employees to 500 in January. The move comes less than a month after Nissan said it would cut production in Japan, Britain and Spain as a global economic slowdown hammers demand.