Spanish unions conducted a march through the streets of Barcelona Thursday (23 October) as a protest to plans by Nissan to axe 1,680 workers in Spain.
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Thousands of workers joined the protest, including workers from other auto makers and parts suppliers, unions claimed.
There were calls for the Spanish government to intervene and prevent Nissan from making the cuts.
“It is time for the government to defend the interests of the majority of citizens and workers and not just the interests of banks and big multinationals,” the head of the firm’s workers’ committee in Spain, Javier Donate, was quoted by Reuters saying.
Spanish unions earlier this month branded the plan “unjustified and barbarous.”
However, Nissan has argued that the cuts were needed to compensate for major losses in Europe stemming from falling sales of the Barcelona-made Pathfinder and X-83 models.
Under the plan, the country’s biggest since 1993, Nissan will cut 27.5% of its 6,100-strong workforce amid other measures to boost efficiencies. It will make 130,000 vehicles in 2008 compared with 193,000 in 2007.
Spanish car sales are plummeting amid a deep economic recession, falling 41% year on year in August.
