Numsa concerned about possible closure of Nissan’s Pretoria plant

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has expressed concern about reports of the possible closure of Nissan South Africa’s plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria.

Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim on Tuesday referred to reports by news wire service Reuters that Nissan is considering closing down plants in South Africa, India, and Argentina as part of its global turnaround strategy.

Read: Nissan plans to shut plants after worst loss in years

Jim said Numsa must be upfront and state that it has not received any formal communication or confirmation about the possible closure of Nissan’s South African plant.

He said he understands that the Nissan plant closures are anticipated in its 2027 financial year.

Jim said Numsa is planning to meet Nissan South Africa to get clarity on the situation.

Coy on closures

Nissan South Africa has remained coy in answering questions on whether the Nissan plant in Rosslyn is one of the seven plants Nissan Motor Company plans to close.

Thato Maphoto, Nissan South Africa’s communications lead, said on Monday: “At this stage, we are not able to inform you which plants will be affected. Our focus remains on our operations and the dedicated workforce that drives our success.

“We are committed to maintaining transparency with our stakeholders and will communicate any relevant updates as necessary.”

Maphoto said she did not know when the identity of the seven plants to be closed would be publicly announced.

Maphoto told another publication she could not confirm reports that the Rosslyn plant was one of the seven plants to be closed, “as consultations were still happening internally”.

‘Re:Nissan’ strategy

When Moneyweb asked Maphoto about the specific nature of these consultations, she said they “refer to the RE:Nissan strategy that was published last week”.

This is a reference to Nissan Motor Company last week announcing Re:Nissan, a recovery plan that it said implements decisive and bold actions to enhance performance and create a leaner, more resilient business that adapts quickly to market changes.

Nissan president and CEO Ivan Espinosa said the strategy aims to:

• Achieve positive operating profitability and free cash flow in the automotive business by its 2026 financial year;
• Achieve total cost savings of ¥500 billion versus Nissan’s 2024 financial year actuals in fixed and variable costs; and
• Reduce its workforce by 20 000 and its plants from 17 to 10 by Nissan’s 2027 financial year.

Espinosa said that to restructure Nissan’s manufacturing base and refine efficiencies, it will consolidate its vehicle production plants from 17 to 10 by the 2027 financial year, streamline its powertrain plants, and accelerate job reformation, work shift adjustments, and capital expenditure reductions, including cancelling the planned lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Kyushu, Japan.

He said Nissan aims to reduce its workforce by a total of 20 000 employees between its 2024 and 2027 financial years, which includes the previously announced reduction of 9 000 employees.

Read:
Nissan job cuts blow out to 20 000 in massive overhaul, NHK says
Nissan sees $5.3bn loss as restructuring charges mount

“This workforce reduction globally covers direct/indirect roles and contractual roles in manufacturing, SG&A [selling, general and administrative] and R&D [research and development] functions,” he said.

Nissan South Africa MD Maciej Klenkiewicz told Moneyweb in March 2024 that the company has a goal of producing two further models at its plant in Rosslyn in Pretoria in addition to its Navara one-ton pickup, and its priority is to bring ina successor to the half-ton pickup.

Read: Nissan SA aiming to produce three models for Africa at Rosslyn plant [Mar 2024]

The Rosslyn plant stopped production of the NP200 in March 2024 at the end of the model’s lifecycle.

This resulted in about 400 Nissan SA employees, 25% of its total 1 600 workforce, leaving the employ of the company in an employee reduction plan.

These retrenchments became necessary when Nissan SA was unable to secure an immediate replacement model for its NP200 for production at the Rosslyn plant

Read:
Nissan SA to cut 400 jobs [Oct 2023]
Management shake-up at retrenchment-hit Nissan SA [Oct 2023]

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