Spanish closure plans were revealed on the same day as a press conference alongside Nissan’s alliance partners Renault and Mitsubishi during which they warned the “global context has changed radically” because of coronavirus.
Nissan also posted annual results, revealing a net loss of 671bn yen (£5.1bn) loss – its biggest in 20 years – on revenues down almost 15pc at 9.9 trillion yen.
The loss – reversing the 319bn yen profit for the previous year – was partly driven by 603bn yen of writedowns and restructuring costs as market share fell.
Nissan said sales in the year to the end of March fell 10.6pc to 4.93m vehicles, against a wider market fall of 6.9pc.
Looking ahead, the company forecast global sales by all manufacturers would drop between 15pc and 20pc in the coming year, but said the situation was too uncertain to make predictions about its own performance.
However, Nissan’s sales were in decline even before coronavirus sent the automotive industry into freefall.
Makoto Uchida, chief executive, has already been overseeing plans to trim about one in 10 workers – some 12,500 staff worldwide.
He said: “We must focus on a growth path, as we have greater potential than that of today. We have learned from past mistakes and we have great assets. But we must admit failures and take corrective actions.”
The restructuring plan is part of Nissan and its alliance partners to work more closely to cut costs and boost profits. However, the have ruled out a formal merger as former alliance chief Carlos Ghosn had been pushing for.