Nissan announces plans to close its historic Cuernavaca plant, moving production to Aguascalientes

Nissan has officially announced the closure of its works successful the authorities of Morelos aft astir 60 years of operations, leaving the destiny of thousands of employees up successful the air.

The Cuernavaca Valley Industrial City (Civac) plant, located successful Jiutepec, Morelos, conscionable extracurricular Cuernavaca, was Nissan’s archetypal accumulation installation extracurricular of Japan. However, opening successful March 2026, the extremity of the Japanese fiscal year, accumulation of each models presently assembled astatine Civac, including the NP300, Frontier and Versa, volition beryllium transferred to the much modern Aguascalientes automotive complex.

😔🏭 Así fue el momento en que la directiva de Nissan anunció a los trabajadores el cierre de la planta de Jiutepec tras 59 años de historia ⏳ La producción se traslada a Aguascalientes 🚚⚙️https://t.co/XN1BFkm9hC

📹@InfoAgenda_Mor pic.twitter.com/hakR1z7bTb

— @diario24horas (@diario24horas) July 30, 2025

This Spanish-language video, perchance taken clandestinely and posted connected X, captures the infinitesimal erstwhile employees of Nissan’s 59-year-old Cuernavaca works archetypal learned that they volition soon beryllium retired of a job.

“Today, we person made the hard but indispensable determination that volition let america to go much efficient, much competitive, and much sustainable,” CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation Ivan Espinosa said, adding that relocating accumulation to Aguascalientes, the superior of the cardinal authorities of the aforesaid name, volition guarantee the continuity of cardinal models successful a installation with greater technological capacity.

This determination is portion of the planetary “Re:Nissan” restructuring plan, which seeks to consolidate accumulation and optimize the company’s ratio worldwide. According to the paper El Universal, Nissan plans to trim its non-China planetary accumulation capableness from 3.5 cardinal units to 2.5 cardinal units yearly.

Though Nissan is not leaving Mexico, its existent plans people the extremity of an era. 

The Cuernavaca works accounted for astir 11% of Nissan’s full accumulation successful Mexico and had produced much than 6.5 cardinal vehicles since its opening successful 1966, marking the opening of the brand’s planetary enlargement extracurricular of Japan. Over the years, its vehicles person not lone been distributed successful Mexico but person besides reached planetary markets, including Japan. The Nissan Tsubame was exported successful 1993, marking the archetypal exemplary manufactured successful Mexico and sold successful the Asian country.

Since its opening, Civac has boosted improvement for the section assemblage and acted arsenic a benchmark for the Mexican automotive industry, which is wherefore the determination has raised concerns astir the aboriginal employment of the plant’s nonstop employees. The institution did not notation successful its announcements however galore employees volition beryllium affected, but the paper El País reported that figures from Nissan itself enactment the fig of Civac workers astatine 4,800 successful 2016.

Nissan says it is committed to ensuring a respectful modulation for affected employees. However, it has not announced immoderate circumstantial plans astir severance, relocation oregon status plans, leaving workers feeling uncertain.

Morelos Governor Margarita González Saravia and authorities Minister of Economic Development Víctor Sánchez Trujillo announced plans to conscionable with Nissan representatives to guarantee compliance with  labour rights and to facilitate a just transition. The enactment program includes placement of employees successful different automotive companies successful the state, a peculiar programme done the National Employment Service (SNE) for caller occupation opportunities, and enactment for entrepreneurship, leveraging employees’ method skills.

In an interview, González added that her authorities volition question to bring successful different automotive institution to regenerate Nissan. 

With reports from Diario de Morelos and Merca 20