TOKYO – Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday it will close its vehicle design studios in California’s San Diego and Sao Paulo in Brazil by March 2026 and transfer their activities and programs to other sites as part of its restructuring overhaul.

The closures leave the ailing Japanese automaker with just five design centers — two in Japan and one each in Los Angeles, London and Shanghai. Operations in Japan and London will also be downsized, it said.

“This strategic shift empowers our organization to focus on upstream innovation and future mobility, while enhancing our creative agility and competitive edge in an increasingly dynamic landscape,” said Alfonso Albaisa, corporate executive of global design at Nissan, in a statement.

The automaker posted a net loss of 670.90 billion yen ($4.6 billion) for fiscal 2024, hit by lackluster sales in the United States and China. It has not issued a profit forecast for the full business year through March 2026, citing uncertainties over U.S. tariffs.

Aiming to restore profitability by reducing its global workforce and production capacity, Nissan is set to consolidate the number of its factories from 17 to 10, both domestically and abroad, by fiscal 2027.

It said the scaling down includes ceasing vehicle production at its signature Oppama plant in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo.