Nissan to cut 12,500 jobs worldwide as profits tumble

Nissan is to cut 12,500 jobs worldwide by 2022 as it slashes production by 10%.

The Japanese car maker made the announcement as it reported a 98.5% fall in operating profits to 1.6 billion yen (£11.9m) for the three months to June.

Nissan is trying to rein in costs as it suffers from sluggish sales, while also attempting to recover from a scandal surrounding ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn.

The announcement of a job cull representing about 9% of the global workforce increases the scale of cuts announced in May, when it said 4,800 jobs would go.

Nissan said 14 sites would be affected.

It was not immediately clear whether there would be any impact on its factory in Sunderland - Britain's biggest car plant - where it employs 7,000 people.

The Press Association later reported that Sunderland had been spared from the cuts.

Nissan said its profits were hit by falling sales as well as "external factors such as raw material costs, exchange rate fluctuations and investments to meet regulatory standards".

The company said the number of vehicles it sold in its first quarter fell by 6%, including a 16.3% decline in Europe as well as declines in North America and Japan.

Explaining the cuts it said: "Nissan is implementing strategic reforms in order to build an operational base that will ensure consistent and sustainable profitability over time."

Sky News revealed in March that the company was considering plans to cut back production line shifts in Sunderland, resulting in 400 jobs being threatened - described at the time as "rumour or speculation" by a spokesman.

In February, it said it would not make its new X-Trail model there, as previously planned.