Car manufacturing giant Nissan could be on the brink of collapse with only 12 months to survive, it has been warned.
The Japanese auto firm which employs 7,000 people in the UK and 17,000 in the US has embarked on a huge cost-cutting programme after suffering heavy losses.
Nissan said last month it would axe 9,000 jobs and 20 per cent of its global manufacturing capacity, as it scrambles to reduce costs by $2.6billion (£2billion) in the current fiscal year amid a sales slump in China and the US, its two biggest markets.
Chief executive Makoto Uchida is taking a 50 per cent pay cut and it has now been reported that chief financial officer Stephen Ma is stepping down.
But insiders fear the moves may not be enough as Nissan struggles to stay competitive with rivals who have pushed ahead more successfully with popular hybrid cars.
The warnings come as a strategic deal signed with competitors Mitsubishi and Renault back in 1999, covering European, Japanese and US markets, could be ending.
Two anonymous ‘senior officials’ at Nissan have been quoted by the Financial Times as saying that Renault is now looking at reducing its financial stake in Nissan.
That could leave Nissan requiring cash backing from the Japanese or US governments over the next year to remain in business, according to the report.
