Nissan Motor Thailand confirmed to Thai Enquirer this week that it will be letting go of staff after rumours had been circulating for months that it would be closing some of its operations in Thailand.
Local reports in May said the company was looking to let go 300 of its 5,000 employees.
“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant drop in demand across the automotive markets locally, regionally and globally,” a Nissan representative told Thai Enquirer on Wednesday.
“As a result, Nissan in Thailand has had to make some tough business decisions, including temporarily adjusting production and releasing employees with less than a year of employment,” the representative said.
Nissan did not disclose how many people are being let go in Thailand.
It added that all of the employees that were already let go are being compensated according to Thai labour regulations and industry standards.
With the company’s revenues entering the red zone for the first time in 11 years, Nissan’s chief executive Makoto Uchida said last week that they are cutting global production by 20 per cent in 2020. This has resulted in the shutdown of production in Spain and Indonesia.
Uchida said some production in Indonesia will be moved to Thailand but Nissan Motor Thailand’s representative told Thai Enquirer that as they are not making vehicles for consumption in Thailand, it will have no impact on operations here.
“The plant in Indonesia manufactures Datsun vehicles for the domestic Indonesian market. As such, there is no impact on Nissan in Thailand,” the representative said.
Nissan Motor reported a US$6.2 billion loss for the fiscal year that ended in March – the first time since 2009, after the global financial crisis. Its global production dropped by 62 per cent in April to 150,388 vehicles. Global sales also dropped by 42 per cent in the same month.
Ong-Arj Pongkijworasin, Chairman of the Automotive Industry Club (AIC) had told Thai Enquirer in May that more than 300,000 people could be out of a job if the government fails to rescue the automobile industry.
[Photo Credit: Nissan Motors Thailand]
