Carlos Ghosn

About 20,000 workers currently employed by Nissan likely won’t be able to get payday loans much longer. That’s because soon payday will be replaced with unemployment checks.

Nissan, Japan’s third-largest auto maker, is facing its first loss in nine years. Company head Carlos Ghosn says he will take “emergency measures,” including suspending the company’s business plan, slashing capital expenditures by 21 percent and cutting about 20,000 employees.

Negative Numbers for Nissan

For the fiscal year that ends in March, Nissan projects it will incur a net loss of $2.6 billion. Last fall the company was expecting a $1.8 billion profit. However, sales have fallen about 23 percent.

Ghosn brought Nissan back from the brink of collapse in the early ’90s. Still, Ghosn says “This is like no recession I’ve known.”

“The global auto industry is in turmoil, and Nissan is no exception. In every planning scenario, our worst assumptions on the state of the economy have been met or exceeded,” Ghosn said.

Ouch. Too bad payday loans can’t help Nissan.

General shakeup

Robert Lutz

Nissan employees won’t be the only auto industry employees who end up without work this year. Luckily, though, for General Motors Vice Chairman Robert Lutz, his removal from the world of employment will be voluntary.

Lutz says he plans to retire at the end of this year. If you ask me, it’s about time. The 76-year-old will spend the rest of the year providing input into GM’s global design and  product initiatives until he retires.

Could Lutz’s salary work like a payday loan?

I don’t know how much Lutz was getting paid, but given his position at one of the biggest automakers in the United States, I am willing to bet it was a pretty hefty sum.

The company will promote from within. It has named Thomas Stephens, executive vice president of global powertrain and quality, Lutz’s successor, so that should leave the company with an extra shot of cash where Lutz’s salary used to be. Just as payday loans provide a boost for people who need a little financial help, perhaps this move will help GM a bit.