Nissan is selling its headquarters for $630 million, the struggling Japanese automaker announced Thursday. The income should be used to advance the renovation. Nissan wants to rent the building in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, and continue to use it as its headquarters.
The additional funds will be used to modernize internal systems at the company’s headquarters to accelerate the deployment of AI-driven systems and digital modernization across various operational areas. The buyer is the real estate company MJI Godo Kaisha, which belongs to the Minth Group, a large automotive supplier. The companies did not provide any information about the costs of the rental agreement.
On Thursday, Nissan announced a surprise return to profitability after last reporting a loss of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended March. The restructuring course taken by the new CEO Ivan Espinosa (54) and strong sales in North America were the deciding factors. After a loss in the first quarter, Nissan earned around $334 million from July to September, a good 60 percent more than in the same period last year. Espinosa said he expects a stronger second half of the year.
Mass layoffs and plant closures
However, for the full year to the end of March 2026, Nissan still expects an operating loss of around $1.7 billion due to burdens from US import tariffs and chip supply chain problems. According to an insider, the car manufacturer is reducing production of its bestseller Rogue due to the shortage of chips from the Dutch manufacturer Nexperia. In addition, car production at the plant in Mexico operated jointly with Mercedes-Benz will stop at the end of November.
The sale of the headquarters reflects the company’s strategy to innovate, remain competitive and aggressively pursue research for future growth. Nissan had already announced 15 percent of its global workforce, that is around 20,000 employees. Additionally, the flagship plant in Oppama will be closed.