Nissan Stopping Operations for 2 Days in the U.S. in January

Amid falling sales and ongoing financial struggles in the United States, Nissan has announced it will be closing its American operations for two days in January to reduce costs.

According to a credible tip, the Japanese automaker was planning to shut its doors and force all employees to a two-day furlough without pay.

When asked about the situation, Nissan confirmed the news and said that the company will be closed across the country on January 2 and 3. A spokesperson for the company offered the following statement: “To optimize business performance and competitiveness, Nissan North America will implement two office closure days in the U.S. on January 2 and January 3, 2020. Nissan dealers will operate as normal.”

The company further clarified that the scheduled closure will include hourly and salary workers and will also be affecting its manufacturing plants and corporate offices. The current number of Nissan employees in its U.S. operations is approximately 14,500 people.

Pointing to the optimization of business performance and competitiveness behind the extended holiday suggests the move could be an attempt to save money on operation costs. Although there are no exact figures how much a day of operations amounts to for Nissan, a 14,000-strong workforce could fall very well within millions of dollars in a day. But this could also mean there are some serious financial concerns for Nissan in America.

Nissan’s U.S. sales continue to drop, falling by as much as 15 percent in November compared to the previous year. While the main Nissan brand only went down by 13.3 percent, the company’s luxury brand, Infiniti, plummeted by 33 percent. Nissan Group sales are also down 7.8 percent versus 2018.