Nissan to Cut Jobs on Lower Earnings

Nissan Motor Corp., Japan’s second-largest auto maker, said it will cut 5,000 jobs worldwide and further trim its production capacity after slashing its earnings estimates for its fiscal year ended March 31. Nissan, newly wed to French auto maker Renault, said it will also skip dividend payments for the first time in 48 years because of plunging domestic sales. Nissan lowered its projection for the year’s total sales by 2% to about $28.1 billion. Analysts said the restructuring plans are aggressive enough to meet the higher end of expectations. The firm, which will report results next month, said it has lowered its consolidated pretax profit forecast to about $127 million for 1998-99, down from a November projection of $508 million. It posted a profit of $39.8 million in the previous year. Nissan’s domestic sales dropped 15.9% in March, the worst performance among Japan’s auto makers. Nissan said the planned job cuts will be limited to non-manufacturing divisions. Late last month, Renault agreed to take a controlling 36.8% stake in Nissan, but the strength of the alliance has been questioned by analysts worried about Nissan’s large debts.