"We are committed to the vision of energy independence, environmental sustainability, and the new energy economy, and we are hopeful that the U.S. Department of Energy approves this loan request," the company said in a statement, according to the aforementioned source.
Nissan is the first non-US car manufacturer that seeks financial aid from the American government, as both Toyota and Honda confirmed they have not sought help despite their current difficult condition.
On the other hand, General Motors and Chrysler already received a $17.4 billion loan from the US Treasury, with both companies required to submit a restructuring plan to the government by February 17. Both carmakers must demonstrate their viability by March 31.
Nissan recently announced it will cut approximately 20,000 people worldwide by the end of March, obviously pointing to the global economic downturn which reduced demand on almost every single market. The reduction means Nissan's workforce will be slashed to 215,000 employees from the current 235,000 global figures.
Even though Nissan has not mentioned which plants are going to be affected by the job cut, the Japanese automaker is likely to reduce workforce at its American plants, especially due to the collapsing new car sales. Nissan's chief executive Carlos Ghosn said such a measure is somehow understandable given the current market conditions. Today everyone has a problem. The financial crisis was supposed to be solved by now and it’s not,” he stated.
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