Nissan, which is 44 per cent owned by Renault of France, said the cuts were part of a broad restructuring designed to carry it through the worst industry downturn in decades. It will also reduce executive pay, scale back its investment plans and suspend its second-half dividend.
The company, which is Japan's third-biggest car and truck producer, warned it would suffer a net loss of Y265bn ($2.89bn) in the financial year ending March 31 – a sharp reversal of its previous forecast of a Y160bn profit.
The loss would be its first under Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive dispatched by Renault in 1999 to turn the then debt-ridden company around. Mr Ghosn now leads the combined Nissan-Renault group.