Nissan Under French Scrutiny Over Supplier Payments While Battling Losses And Cost-Cutting Plan: Report

​The French government is reportedly reviewing whether Nissan’s European arm paid its suppliers on time and has requested extensive financial and payment records for 2024.

The economy ministry’s competition department informed Nissan Automotive Europe of the probe in an Aug. 19 letter, with an inspection scheduled for Oct. 7 at its Montigny-le-Bretonneux headquarters near Paris, Reuters reported, citing letters exchanged between the French government and Nissan.

Nissan has not been accused of wrongdoing but was told it could face fines of up to 2 million euros ($2.36 million) if violations are found. Under French law, suppliers must be paid within 60 days. France has intensified scrutiny of late payments, with regulators inspecting 409 firms in the first half of 2025 and issuing fines of 47 million euros after finding irregularities at nearly 40% of them.

Nissan told Reuters it had received the request from a French authority, adding: “No wrongdoing by Nissan has been indicated in the request, and we are fully cooperating with the authority in question and ready to provide the necessary information and clarifications.”

The probe comes as Nissan pursues a $3.4 billion cost-cutting turnaround plan after reporting a $535 million quarterly loss, its first in four years. The automaker aims to return to positive free cash flow by 2026. Last year, Japanese regulators found it had underpaid dozens of suppliers by 3 billion yen ($20 million).

Last month, Mercedes-Benz Pension Trust said it would sell its entire 3.8% stake in Nissan, offloading about 140 million shares.

In May, CEO Ivan Espinosa announced plans to cut 20,000 jobs and reduce the number of global manufacturing sites from 17 to 10. As part of its “Re:Nissan” recovery plan, the company is also weighing the sale of its Yokohama global headquarters to KKR & Co. for about 90 billion yen ($610 million) under a 10-year lease-back arrangement. 

Nissan has forecast 180 billion yen in operating losses for April–September and faces $5.6 billion in debt due next year. It has raised $4.5 billion through overseas bond sales but continues to carry junk credit ratings.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Nissan was ‘bullish’ amid ‘normal’ message volume.

Nissan’s U.S.-listed stock has declined 17.8% so far in 2025.

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