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Cuts operating profit outlook by 70%

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To reduce global production capacity by a fifth

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China sales slump, lacks hybrids for US market

(Recasts and writes through)

By Daniel Leussink

TOKYO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor ( NSANF ) said it

would slash 9,000 jobs and cut global production capacity by a

fifth, while revising its annual profit outlook sharply lower as

it battles headwinds in China and the United States.

Japan's third-largest automaker cut its annual operating

profit forecast by 70% to 150 billion yen ($975 million),

marking its second downward revision after a 17% cut earlier

this year.

Operating profit for the July-September second-quarter

tumbled 85% to 32.9 billion yen, far below an LSEG consensus

estimate of 66.8 billion yen.

"Nissan ( NSANF ) will restructure its business to become leaner

and more resilient, while also reorganizing management to

respond quickly and flexibly to changes in the business

environment," CEO Makoto Uchida said in a statement.

"These turnaround measures do not imply that the company is

shrinking," he added.

Nissan's ( NSANF ) global sales fell 3.8% to 1.59 million vehicles for

the first half of the financial year, largely due to a 14.3%

drop in China where it has been looking to mount a comeback in

the face of local rivals.

U.S. sales fell almost 3% to about 449,000 vehicles.

Together, the two markets account for nearly half of Nissan's ( NSANF )

global sales by volume.

Uchida said that core models in the U.S. did not sell as

well as expected and that the automaker been surprised by the

rapid growth in demand for hybrids and did not have the hybrid

and plug-in hybrid line-up it needs for the market.

Nissan ( NSANF ) joins a growing number of foreign automakers

struggling in China, hurt by intensifying competition from

nimble Chinese manufacturers in the booming electric vehicle

segment.

Honda Motor ( HMC ) reported on Wednesday a surprise 15%

drop in second-quarter operating profit due to a heavy sales

drop in China, sending shares in Japan's second-largest

automaker down 5%.

Shares in Nissan ( NSANF ) closed up 2.2% prior to the earnings,

versus a 0.25% drop in the wider market.

($1 = 153.8500 yen)