KANDA, Japan, May 7, 2026, 08:06 JST
- Nissan is moving Oppama output to Nissan Motor Kyushu while pressing ahead with fresh job cuts in Europe.
- The transfer puts about 2,400 Oppama workers and Kyushu’s factory town politics at the center of the automaker’s recovery plan.
- Tokyo trading resumes after Golden Week, with Nissan shares last closing at 350.7 yen on May 1.
Nissan Motor’s plan to shift vehicle production from its historic Oppama plant near Tokyo to its Kyushu factory has become a sharper test of Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa’s turnaround, after the automaker said it would cut about 900 jobs in Europe and consolidate output at its Sunderland plant in Britain.
Why it matters now is simple. Nissan needs the Kyushu transfer to show that its Re:Nissan recovery plan can cut costs, lift plant utilization — the share of factory capacity actually used — and protect cash before full-year results due May 13.
Japan Exchange Group lists May 4-6 as Tokyo market holidays for Golden Week, and Yahoo Finance showed Nissan’s last pre-holiday close at 350.7 yen, with no real-time price posted before the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 9 a.m. morning session.
Nissan said last year it would end vehicle production at Oppama by the close of fiscal 2027 and move current and future models to Nissan Motor Kyushu. Oppama, opened in 1961, has produced more than 17.8 million vehicles and employs about 2,400 people.
Espinosa called the Oppama decision “tough but necessary” and said the plant’s legacy would endure, while Nissan said it would keep other Oppama-area functions, including its research center, crash-test facility and wharf. The company said employees would remain at Oppama until the end of fiscal 2027 and that it would discuss later work arrangements with the union once policies are set. Nissan News
The local friction is already visible. A regional Japanese report said some at Oppama saw the move as a “dressed-up layoff,” while Kanda, the Fukuoka Prefecture town around Nissan Motor Kyushu, is bracing for the economic lift that comes with becoming a bigger production hub. Kobe Shimbun NEXT
The squeeze is not limited to Japan. Nissan said Tuesday it would cut about 10% of its European workforce, with the reductions focused on white-collar and warehouse roles, and move Sunderland from two production lines to one. “We have been taking decisive actions,” Nissan said, adding that it wanted a “leaner, more resilient business.” Reuters
In the United States, Nissan has also backed away from a battery-electric vehicle plan at Canton, Mississippi. “Canton does have a future that will include diverse powertrains, but it will not include EVs,” Nissan U.S. operations spokesperson Ashli Bobo was quoted as saying by Automotive Manufacturing Solutions. Automotive Manufacturing Solutions
The numbers explain the urgency. Nissan lifted its fiscal 2025 operating profit forecast to 50 billion yen from a previous 60 billion yen loss, helped by cost reductions, foreign exchange effects and a one-off gain tied to U.S. emissions rules. It still expects a 550 billion yen net loss.
Volume remains weak. Nissan said global sales fell 7.0% in March from a year earlier, while sales for April 2025 through March 2026 declined 4.2%. Japan production dropped 13.1% over that fiscal-year period, and registered-vehicle sales in Japan fell 19.0%.
Competition leaves little room for a slow reset. Reuters Breakingviews columnist Katrina Hamlin wrote in April that Nissan’s 2030 sales targets look ambitious compared with industry forecasts and Chinese rivals such as BYD and Leapmotor, while Reuters has reported that Nissan and Honda remain in talks on North America cooperation after failed merger talks.
China adds another pressure point. Stephen Ma, Nissan’s China chief, told Reuters that Chinese brands had been “too fast” and that Nissan had “reset,” as the company plans fresh investment and faster new-energy vehicle launches in the world’s largest car market. Reuters
But the Kyushu bet could still be knocked off course. A stronger yen would chip away at one of the factors that helped Nissan’s revised outlook, and the currency jumped Wednesday in holiday-thinned trade amid speculation of Japanese intervention, though there was no official confirmation.
For Nissan, Kyushu is now more than a transfer destination. It is where investors, workers and suppliers will judge whether the company’s factory cuts can restore competitiveness without turning a cost-saving plan into another drag on morale.
