Chicago, February 10: Nissan took the wraps off its boxy-shaped small car dubbed 'Krom' at the Chicago Auto Show, marking the beginning of the wagon’s world career.

Washington, February 9: Nissan Motor Co. announced today that it is seeking a federal loan under a U.S. program for fuel-efficient autos.

Tokyo -- Nissan Motor Co. said Monday it would lay off 20,000 workers, and joined other Japanese automakers announcing major losses for 2008.

"In every planning scenario we built, our worst assumptions on the state of the global economy have been met or exceeded," Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said in a statement.

"Looking forward, our priority remains on protecting our free cash flow and taking swift, adequate ... actions to improve our business performance," he said.

The company said it lost $810 million in the third quarter "driven by the severe downturn in the global economy in the second half of calendar year 2008."

Net revenue was down 34.4 percent in the quarter from a year ago to $17.65 billion. During the quarter, Nissan sold 731,000 vehicles, down 18.6 percent from a year ago.