Nissan closes its Oppama plant in Japan to cut costs

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Nissan is closing its flagship factory in Oppama, Japan, to cut costs and moving all its production there to another plant in southwestern Japan.

Vehicle production at the Oppama plant in Kanagawa Prefecture south of Tokyo, will end at the end of the 2027 fiscal year, in March 2028, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday.

After that, all models that had been made or scheduled for production at Oppama will be made at Nissan Motor Kyushu, in Fukuoka Prefecture. The Oppama plant has been a prized symbol for Nissan Motor Corp., which rolled out its Leaf electric car there in 2010, ahead of key rivals.

Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa, who took on the job in April, said the decision was extremely difficult, calling the Oppama plant “an icon for Nissan.” He promised employees will be treated fairly and responsibly, with transfer offers to other locations, or other work in the area in consultation with the labor union. The plant now employs 2,400 people.

“I believe it's a vital step toward overcoming our current challenges and building a sustainable future,” he said.

“The world is changing by the minute,” he told reporters at a hastily called news conference at Nissan's Yokohama headquarters.

Espinosa said the company was in talks on possibly selling the factory land, or using it for another purpose. He declined to give details. Even if a buyer is not found, the decision on ending production will not change, he added.

The plant's closure was expected, as the maker of the Infiniti luxury models and March subcompact has said repeatedly that it is restructuring its operations to boost its profitability, including by consolidating production sites.

Nissan says the tariff policies of President Donald Trump have hurt its bottom line. Earlier this year, Nissan said it was slashing about 15% of its global work force, or about 20,000 employees, which would include a 9,000 head count reduction announced late last year, including in China.

The company has been racking up losses, hurt by slipping vehicle sales in China and elsewhere, huge restructuring costs and ballooning inventories.

Earlier this year, Nissan said it’s reducing the number of its auto plants to 10 from 17 to “create a leaner, more resilient business.”

At that time, it didn’t say which plants were being closed but confirmed the closures will include factories in Japan. It’s also reducing production capacity to 2.5 million units from 3.5 million. The latest announcement concludes the production closures in Japan, according to Espinosa.

Nissan racked up a loss of 670.9 billion yen ($4.5 billion) for the fiscal year through March, down from a 426.6 billion yen profit recorded in the previous fiscal year. Espinosa replaced Makoto Uchida, who stepped down to take responsibility for the faltering results.