Nissan to close two design studios as part of cost cutting drive

Nissan is embarking on a sweeping cost-cutting program as it struggles with mounting losses, weak global sales, and ongoing lawsuits over faulty engines. As part of the restructuring, the Japanese automaker will close multiple design studios, including Nissan Design America (NDA) in San Diego, California, and Nissan Design Latin America (NDLA) in São Paulo, Brazil. Creative operations in the UK and Japan will also be scaled back.

Going forward, Nissan says its Atsugi facility in Japan will serve as the lead global design hub. Studio Six in Los Angeles will become the primary U.S.-focused studio for Nissan and Infiniti, while the London studio will continue supporting the Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, and Oceania (AMIEO) markets in collaboration with Renault. The Shanghai studio will remain responsible for Chinese-market vehicles, and Creative Box in Tokyo will continue to oversee experiential and lifestyle design projects.

Although Nissan has not disclosed the number of job cuts specific to design, CEO Ivan Espinosa confirmed that the broader restructuring will eliminate 20,000 jobs worldwide. The automaker aims to consolidate its global design footprint into five agile hubs by March 2026, which it claims will enable faster decision-making, closer collaboration, and a more responsive design process.

The shake-up is part of a wider engineering and product development overhaul. Nissan plans to cut lead times dramatically, developing a new-generation model in just 37 months (15 months faster than today), while derivatives could be completed in 30 months—a reduction of 20 months. In parallel, the brand will shrink its global vehicle platforms from 13 to just seven by the middle of the next decade.

In India, Nissan recently handed over its stake in local manufacturing operations to Renault, though it continues to build the Magnite SUV at the shared Chennai plant for both domestic sales and exports.