Nissan is set to announce a leap in its cost-cutting plans that will see 20,000 jobs go globally, according to reports in Japan.

The carmaker, which employs around 6,000 workers at its sprawling manufacturing operations in Sunderland, had already let it be known last November that 9,000 roles would be going amid weak sales and rising costs.

But Japanese broadcaster NHK said on Monday it expected that total to more than double.

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Nissan, which was yet to comment on the claim, is due to reveal full year results covering the 12 months to March on Tuesday morning.

They are expected to show a net loss of up to £3.8bn due to a series of writedowns on the value of its operations.

They will be the first results Nissan has declared since the appointment of a new chief executive last month.

Ivan Espinosa issued a “significant” downgrade to Nissan’s outlook just three weeks ago.

If the job cuts report is true, it would amount to a 15% reduction in the company’s worldwide workforce.

It is not known if the Sunderland production facilities form part of any planned job cuts or production reductions, of up to 20%, that were reported.

Nissan has, on several occasions since Brexit, called the plant’s future into question before proceeding with investment plans.

It has invested £2bn in Sunderland since 2023 alone.

The company secured UK government money this year for a new electric powertrain manufacturing facility in Sunderland.

But a senior Nissan executive, Alan Johnson, warned more aid was needed just last month, arguing that the UK was “not a competitive place” to build cars.

Nissan, like rivals, is facing challenges on many fronts.

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US trade tariffs of 25% on all car imports has exacerbated pressure on its supply chain and sales.

The latter has been struggling due to weaker-than-anticipated electric car uptake.

But the vast majority of its cars made in the UK will be subject to a tariff of just 10% after the UK-US trade deal agreed last week.

It does not currently send Sunderland-made cars to the United States. Most are for export to Europe and the domestic UK market.

Monzo, the digital bank which counts one in five British adults among its customers, is closing in on the appointment of investment bankers to spearhead a stock market listing valuing it at more than £6bn.

Sky News has learnt that Monzo is working with Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street giant, on a series of meetings with potential investors ahead of an initial public offering which could take place as early as the first half next year.

People close to the company said this weekend that bankers would be formally hired to work on the listing within months, with Morgan Stanley now expected to be handed a key role on the deal.

The timing, size and location of an IPO are still to be determined and will depend on market conditions in London and New York, both of which have been buffeted by Donald Trump’s introduction of swingeing trade tariffs.

However, London is currently seen as the most likely listing venue for Monzo by board members and investors, according to people close to the situation.

The company, which saw its valuation soar to £4.5bn last year after primary and secondary share sales, is considering a further sale of existing shares to allow early investors and employees to cash in, although a decision to proceed has not yet been taken.

Monzo has more than 11m UK retail customers, making it the seventh-largest British bank by customer numbers, and 600,000 business customers.

Founded a decade ago, it has become one of Britain’s most successful, and valuable, fintech companies.

It employs close to 4,000 people.

Last year, it raised more than £500m by selling newly issued shares to a group of investors led by Capital G, a division of Alphabet-owned Google.

That primary share sale valued the business at £4.1bn.

An IPO, including any new capital raised, would be likely to value Monzo at more than £6bn, and potentially in the region of £7bn, according to banking sources.

Last year’s secondary share sale saw existing Monzo investors StepStone Group and GIC, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, buying stock from employees.

The company is now profitable and has diversified into investments and instant access savings accounts.

It has also launched pensions products and accounts aimed at under-16s.

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Monzo is among a new generation of banks which have emerged since the last financial crisis and begun to accumulate a significant share of the UK retail banking market.

Rivals include Starling Bank and Revolut, which was valued at $45bn in its last fundraising and was awarded a banking licence by British regulators last year after a protracted process.

Monzo has recovered spectacularly from a difficult period in 2020 when it emerged that the City watchdog was investigating it for potential breaches of anti-money laundering and financial crime rules.

It has revamped its corporate structure as it pursues an international expansion aimed at enticing new investors to its strategy for long-term growth.

The company has been exploring acquisition opportunities in the US and Europe, although a major deal is not thought to be imminent.

Monzo Bank Holding Group was established to avoid the company facing punitive capital treatment by British regulators as it launches in new overseas markets.

Other Monzo investors include the Chinese group Tencent, Passion Capital, Accel, General Catalyst and Hedosophia.

Monzo is run by TS Anil, its chief executive, and chaired by Gary Hoffman, the banker who salvaged Northern Rock after its nationalisation in 2008.

This weekend, a Monzo spokesperson declined to comment.

Donald Trump has floated the idea of cutting US trade tariffs against China to 80% – as key peace talks between the sides prepare to get under way.

The weekend meeting, involving top officials from both nations in Switzerland, is seen as an opportunity to ease the most damaging and punitive element of the trade war.

At stake for both sides is not only a deteriorating domestic outlook but a weakening global economy.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, hours after agreeing an interim deal with the UK, the president said: “80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B [Bessent].”

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It means the decision will lie with Scott Bessent – the US treasury secretary who will lead the US delegation at the talks in Geneva.

The outcome is eagerly awaited after several rounds of tariff hikes that currently total duties of 125% on US imports to China and 145% on Chinese goods arriving in America.

Both levels amount to an effective trade embargo, given the severity of the numbers. A 80% figure against China would remain hugely restrictive.

But the announcement of talks in Switzerland this week has been welcomed broadly – across financial markets too, with the dollar and global stocks rising on Friday in hopeful anticipation of a cooling in the trade hostilities between the world’s two largest economies.

Investors are not only concerned by higher, if not extortionate, prices but also the impact on supply.

The effects are being felt in both economies already.

Fears of a trade war effectively meant that the US economy contracted during the first three months of the year, while the US central bank has held off on interest rate cuts on the grounds that tariffs applied to imports by the Trump administration globally will lift inflation markedly.

Official data out of China is yet to show any obvious pain, but surveys suggest factory orders are tumbling.

The fact that China is suffering was borne out on Wednesday when the country’s central bank cut interest rates and reduced bank reserve requirements to help free up more funding for lending.

The authorities also agreed wider borrowing facilities to help manufacturers.

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It will be hoped that bolstering activity in the economy will help lift prices generally, as China continues to battle deflation.

Officially, China has signalled that it wants the US to make the first concession.

Its delegation in Geneva is led by vice premier He Lifeng – a figure within China who has gained an international reputation as an effective negotiator.

A commerce ministry spokesperson said of the prospects for a breakthrough when confirming the talks: “The Chinese side carefully evaluated the information from the US side and decided to agree to have contact with the US side after fully considering global expectations, Chinese interests and calls from US businesses and consumers.”

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Sky’s US partner CNBC on Friday: “Everything that’s been going on with the meeting in Switzerland is very promising to us.

“We’re seeing extreme respect, treating both sides with respect. We’re seeing collegiality and also sketches of positive developments.”