Nissan Latest: Regional Offices to Close As Cost-cutting Marches On

Nissan’s attempt to slash costs amid a protracted sales and profit slump will mean the end of two regional offices in the United States.

The news comes after a slew of measures aimed at reining in spending, the most recent of which was a buyout package offered to U.S. employees over the age of 52. With two years of declining sales on its ledger, the automaker figures fewer vehicles sold should result in fewer offices.

In a letter to dealers seen by Automotive News, Nissan states that, starting July 1st, its sales offices will be pared down from eight to six. Gone are the Northwest and Mountain region offices.

“Like many other automotive companies, Nissan North America is taking proactive steps to assess our structure, workflow and operational efficiencies amid a challenging industry environment,” Senior Vice President Airton Cousseau said in the letter.

Cousseau wrote that the “leaner” organization would still provide dealers with “all the support you need.”

Not included in the letter was any mention of how many employees opted for the buyout package, or whether involuntary departures are in the works to cut overhead. Naturally, some dealers aren’t happy with the prospect of forming new relationships, claiming the support Cousseau mentioned wasn’t available in great amounts.

As Nissan holds firm on its goal of reducing rental and fleet deliveries while also cutting back on incentives, the need to free up money elsewhere in the business has seen it take increasingly harsh triage measures. Among them, a sizeable reduction in the amount of employee travel. Last month, U.S. Nissan workers experienced a two-day furlough.

On the product side, recent introductions, such as the 2020 Sentra and the refreshed Titan and Titan XD, reveal a push for fewer build configurations.

[Image: Nissan]