Nissan, Honda stocks jump

Tokyo, Japan (AFP) — Nissan and Honda shares surged in Tokyo Friday after the auto giants confirmed they scrapped merger talks and Nissan detailed restructuring plans.

Nissan shares soared 8.17 percent to 449 yen in early trade before easing to 439.5 yen, while Honda shares rose 4.46 percent to 1,498 yen, before easing to 1.487 yen in morning trade.

After market close Thursday, the companies jointly announced the termination of merger talks that would have created the world’s third-largest automaker.

Separately, Nissan said it “plans to optimize its cost structure and reduce fixed and variable costs by a total of approximately 400 billion yen ($2.6 billion) in fiscal year 2026.”

It detailed about 9,000 job cuts, saying it will “reduce 2,500 global indirect employees by streamlining operations, implementing hiring reductions and accelerating voluntary separation programs.”

The remaining headcount reduction will come from closing three plants in the first quarter of the 2025 financial year.

Shutting the sites in Thailand and the United States will slash 5,300 jobs in the 2025 fiscal year and 1,200 jobs the following one, it said.

“We are dedicated to achieving a more efficient cost structure while driving top-line growth through enhanced competitive products” Nissan president and CEO Makoto Uchida said in a statement.

Nissan will also reduce top management positions by 20 percent, the statement said.