Struggling Nissan may sell off its global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan as it looks to manage its financials, reports Nikkei Asia. This comes after the Japanese automaker vowed to shut down seven of its 17 global factories as well as cut a further 11,000 jobs on top of the 9,000 job losses announced in November last year.
According to the report, the company has placed its HQ on the list of assets it might sell by the end of March 2026. Located on the banks of the Katabira River and only a few minutes away from Yokohama station, the building is estimated to be worth around 100 billion yen (about RM3 billion). Nissan moved its base from Tokyo to its spiritual home in Yokohama in 2009 when Carlos Ghosn was in charge.
Nissan may continue using the facility by leasing it from the new owner, which is similar to what McLaren did with its HQ in Woking through a sale-and-leaseback deal to reduce debt. Proceeds from the building’s sale will help the company with its restructuring costs, which are expected to be around 60 billion yen (RM1.8 billion) in this current financial year. Earlier this month, Nissan announced a loss of 670.9 billion yen (RM20 billion) for the financial year ending March 2025.
New president and CEO Ivan Espinosa revealed the Re:Nissan recovery plan two weeks ago, with the aim of saving 500 billion yen (RM15 billion) this fiscal year compared to the recently ended fiscal year 2024. These savings will establish a framework to secure operating profitability and free cash flow in the automotive business by fiscal year 2026.
As part of this restructuring, the company also wants to reduce parts complexity by 70%, which will see the number of vehicle platforms be reduced from 13 to just seven by fiscal year 2035. Development lead time will also be slashed to 30 months from 37 months, with planned models including an all-new Skyline, global C-SUV and Infiniti compact SUV.
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