Nissan is preparing plans to shut two car assembly plants in Japan and considering closing two factories in Mexico, as the automaker restructures, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Saturday. Nissan said in a statement on its website that recent reports on the potential closure of certain plants were speculative and not based on any official information of the company.

Recently, there were reports in the media claiming that Nissan was considering shutting down its manufacturing operations across the globe as part of a restructuring plan to cut costs. The reports stated

Nissan’s global cost-cutting drive is built around reducing its workforce by 20,000 employees (including the previously announced 9,000 job cuts)