Nissan Motor stated on Tuesday it will close its global headquarters in Japan for 16 days from early May to contain the spread of the coronavirus, even though the government has allowed keeping workplaces open to get the economy running.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has permitted manufacturing plants to keep running under a state of emergency that was announced this month and expanded last week as the coronavirus cases continued to increase.
But Nissan and its rivals had already postponed output at many of their plants because of declining global demand.
Nissan is the recent Japanese company to close its global headquarters to decrease the number of staff commuting, as the COVID-19 coronavirus infections in the country increased faster than ever before.
Canon Inc and Toshiba have also announced same measures previously this month.
Nissan stated that 15,000 workers at its headquarters located in Yokohama and main R&D center in nearby Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, would be required to take leave for 16 days from next Monday through the country’s “Golden Week” holiday that starts on May 4.
Its headquarters would be closed to all other than essential workers, a Nissan spokeswoman stated, adding that those affected would receive “the majority” of their whole salaries during the period. She stated the measures were aimed at keeping over 90% of its workers away from its offices, up from 80% at the moment.
Like many of its worldwide rivals, Nissan has also closed majority of its global production facilities in compliance with “shelter at home” directives to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Nissan stopped production at its Tochigi vehicle plant, which manufactures the Skyline sedan and Infiniti models, for most of this month, and prepares to keep it closed for most of May.
Its plant in Kyushu, located in southern Japan, will operate only the day shift during April and May and shut down entirely for four days during that period.
Nissan’s bigger competitor Toyota Motor stated it expects to slash its domestic production by around 40% as it significantly decreased output at its Japanese plants from earlier month.
Honda Motor is also going to stop production at some of its domestic plants next week, due to disruptions in its global supply chain.
Most automakers are getting ready for a big financial hit from the coronavirus, as lockdowns in the United States and Europe have kept consumers out of dealerships. But Nissan’s sales and profits had been declining even before the outbreak, forcing it to roll back on an aggressive expansion plan pursued by ousted boss Carlos Ghosn.
The pandemic has nonetheless piled on urgency and pressured to renew efforts to downsize. Nissan is set to announce a new recovery plan next month.
About 11,135 people in Japan have been confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus. The virus has killed 263 people in the country.
