Nissan offers buyouts to U.S workers as it pauses global pay rise

Friday, May 30, 2025 - Nissan has suspended merit-based pay increases across its global operations for the current business year, according to an internal communication cited in a Reuters report. The move comes amid a broader restructuring effort by the automaker as it grapples with declining profit margins, particularly in its largest market, North America.

The company confirmed that Nissan North America is offering a voluntary separation programme to a select group of salaried employees in the United States. However, it declined to disclose further details, noting that the process is still underway.

Despite a rise in vehicle sales over the past year, Nissan’s operating profit margin in North America deteriorated during the business year ending in March. Internal emails seen by Reuters also revealed that the company has begun offering buyouts to U.S. employees and has halted merit-based wage increases globally as part of cost-cutting measures.

Chief Executive Officer Ivan Espinosa announced earlier this month a sweeping cost-reduction strategy that includes shutting down seven production facilities worldwide and eliminating an additional 11,000 jobs. These cuts bring Nissan’s total planned workforce reduction to approximately 20,000 employees.

As part of the latest measures, separation packages have been extended to staff at the company’s Canton, Mississippi plant, as well as salaried employees in departments such as human resources, planning, information technology, and finance.

In an internal email quoted in the report, Nissan Americas Chairman Christian Meunier acknowledged the challenges faced by the automaker, stating that while significant efforts had been made to streamline U.S. operations, further “limited, strategic” actions were necessary. He described the plan as essential to the company’s recovery.

Reuters noted that it could not confirm how many employees had been offered the buyouts or how many had accepted them.

In a separate development, Nissan disclosed that it paid a total of 646 million yen (approximately $4.5 million) in compensation to former CEO Makoto Uchida and three other executive officers who stepped down at the end of March.