G618GD A view showing the dashboard being fitted on the production line of the Nissan Leaf electric car at the Nissan Plant, Sunderland.[/caption]
A CAR manufacturing giant “on the brink of collapse” has made a huge production change in order to stay afloat.
It comes after the faltering yet iconic brand saw its shares plummet when Elon Musk ruled out saving the firm.
The Sunderland plant has shifted resources onto a different line[/caption]
The company is making the desperate move in an effort to stay afloat[/caption]
The firm has said no jobs will be lost as a result of the changes[/caption]
The desperate company cancelled a production shift at its UK factory as part of efforts to improve efficiency and recover from its slump.
Nissan’s Sunderland plant has cancelled its Line 1 late shift and will still switch all focus and resources onto Line 2.
This is where the Nissan Leaf will be built – the battery-electric compact car which has been produced since 2010.
A spokesperson for the firm said that this overhaul will not result in any job losses.
They said: “Nissan is implementing immediate measures to turn around its performance and create a leaner, more resilient business capable of swiftly adapting to changes in the market.”
But trade union Unite responded by saying it was working to “mitigate any potential pay reductions”.
Earlier this week, shares of Nissan Motor dropped by as much as 10 per cent which left the manufacturing giant in a panic.
The firm has “failed to keep up with the times” regarding the soaring popularity of hybrid electric vehicles.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said: “We weren’t able to foresee that hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids would be so popular.”
Nissan was part of an alliance with Mitsubishi and Renault, formed in 1999 but this partnership now appears to be at risk of falling apart.
This three-way deal was set up so each company had the financial backing to expand into Europe, Japan and the US but this might soon be coming to an end.
If the alliance breaks up, Nissan may need to seek other forms of financial support within the next year.
The firm has already slashed 9,000 jobs globally and Uchida took a 50 per cent pay cut in a bid to keep the company afloat.
It was hoped that Tesla boss Elon Musk would swoop in and snap up the Japanese company’s US factories, but soon after Musk made it clear he has no intention of stepping in as the firm’s saviour.
Nissan’s stock plunged by 10 per cent – its biggest drop in three weeks – after Musk’s display of disinterest.
Earlier this month, talks between Nissan and Honda for a merger deal collapsed after the companies failed to agree to a multi billion-dollar deal.
The mega merger would have created the world’s fourth largest auto company by vehicle sales behind Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai.
Nissan remains one of the biggest car automotive firms in the world but industry insiders reveal it is now open to mergers with other car or tech manufacturers.
It’s been reported that Taiwanese electronic company Foxconn, best known for building iPhones for Apple, might be next in line to buy up shares.
