Nissan is set to commence discussions this week regarding job reductions at its Sunderland facility in the UK, reported Reuters.
The move is part of the company’s strategy to decrease its worldwide workforce by 15%.
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The Sunderland plant, integral to Nissan’s European operations, is expected to become more efficient and adaptable through this restructuring.
The automaker has not disclosed the exact number of job cuts it aims to achieve. However, reports from Kyodo News suggest that approximately 250 workers may be affected.
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa has also revealed plans to shut down seven global plants, but Sunderland is not on the closure list, indicating its importance to the company’s future, especially with the new Leaf EV set to be manufactured there.
The Sunderland site is spearheading the EV36Zero project, a £1bn ($1.37bn) initiative aimed at establishing the “world’s first” electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing ecosystem.
The plant employs over 6,000 workers across 362,000m2. It boasts renewable energy sources, a vehicle test track, and facilities such as a medical centre and sports and social complex.
This May, the company said that it will announce 20,000 redundancies from its worldwide workforce, which is more than double the 10,000 job cuts it declared at the end of last year.
Moreover, Nissan has experienced a 6% year-on-year decline in worldwide sales to 256,159 vehicles in May, affecting both domestic and international markets. This includes sales of both Nissan and Infiniti branded models.
Last month, Nissan unveiled its new Leaf electric car that’s set to roll off the production line at the Sunderland plant.
