Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa on restructuring plan: ‘the size of the task is big’

CDG News Alert ( 1 min. read)

Author

Anna del Villar
June 04, 2025

Driving the news: Nissan's CEO Ivan Espinosa, who took over just two months ago, made a recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box and was blunt about his company's problems as well as its ongoing restructuring efforts. 

For context: The automaker once targeted 8 million cars in annual sales and built up massive capacity to support that goal. They peaked at 5.6 million in 2016 but have since dropped to around 3.4 million cars per year (operating way below what they were built for).

Why it matters: This isn't a recent problem solely caused by EVs or Chinese competition. Espinosa says the issues go back years to when Nissan overextended itself chasing growth that never materialized. Now they're stuck with too many plants, too many workers, and not enough sales to justify it all. Add in President Trump's tariffs and declining sales, and you've got a company that desperately needs to downsize.

What we're watching: Espinosa has already announced 11,000 job cuts and plans to close seven plants as part of the "Re:Nissan plan." But after merger talks with Honda fell through in February, they're going it alone. Shares are down 24% this year as investors wonder whether cutting costs will be enough to turn around a company that's been living beyond its means.

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