Nissan cuts profit forecast by 66%, will cut workforce

The entire auto industry is hurting right now, and financial news from Nissan today is the latest evidence to support that overused statement. Nissan announced that it's shifting profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009 down by 65.9% (!) to $2.62 billion. To keep inventory in line with reduced demand, Nissan is also cutting its annual production forecast by 200,000 units and will shed 3,500 jobs. The U.S. job losses will come from a previously announced voluntary buyout program and 1,000 jobs will be shed in Japan where layoffs are much less frequent. The automaker's new global sales goal for the year is 3.77 million units, which is down from the latest estimates of 3.9 million cars and trucks and about even with last year's sales. Nissan is far from alone in its current struggle, as Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Mazda are also struggling to keep sales afloat, with most of their troubles centered on the ailing North American market.
[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]