NISSAN is cutting about 15 per cent of its global workforce — roughly 20,000 jobs — as part of a major restructuring plan to address falling vehicle sales and rising costs. 

The announcement came as the Japanese carmaker reported a steep annual loss of 670.9 billion yen (£3.42bn) for the financial year ending in March, with a quarterly loss of 676bn yen (£4.45bn).

As part of its recovery strategy, Nissan will reduce the number of its global factories from 17 to 10 and scrap plans for a battery plant in Japan. 

The workforce reduction, which includes 9,000 previously announced job losses, is set to be completed by March 2028.

“We have a mountain to climb,” its chief executive Ivan Espinosa said, stressing the task will not be easy, requiring discipline and teamwork.

Trade tensions also weighed heavily on performance, with Mr Espinosa noting that US tariffs under former President Donald Trump had negatively affected results.

As part of its recovery strategy, Nissan aims to cut costs by 500bn yen (£2.55bn) compared to current levels.