According to many media reports, Nissan’s UK vehicle manufacturing plant at Sunderland (NMUK) is planning a ‘downward
adjustment’ to its output this year, as it “transitions to a new range of powertrains and reacts to lower diesel sales in the UK and European markets”.
Reports say that some decline in employment levels at the plant is expected, with voluntary redundancy packages to be offered initially.
In a statement, the firm said: “As previously communicated, we are transitioning to a new range of powertrains over the next year.
"As we make the operational changes required to support this, we will be managing a planned short-term reduction in powertrain supply and plant volumes at NMUK, in line with our 2018 business plan.
"We are now discussing these operational changes with our employees.”
Nissan’s UK manufacturing plant (
www.nissan-global.com) sends a high proportion of its exports to markets in Europe. Indeed, the head of Nissan — Carlos Ghosn — has described the Sunderland plant as a “European manufacturing facility that is situated in the UK”.
Data released by ACEA (the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association) shows that Nissan’s new-car sales in Europe (EU+EFTA) were down by 16% to 77,700 units in March.
In the first quarter, sales of Nissan car sales were down 10.4% to 160,057 units, with the company’s market share down from 4.2% to 3.7%.
UK media reports suggest that ‘hundreds’ of jobs may be lost at the plant, which has about 7,000 employees.
The effect of declining diesel sales has also hit Jaguar Land Rover, as according to a report by Reuters the company will cut around 1,000 jobs and production at two of its UK factories, due to a fall in sales caused by confusion over diesel policy and uncertainty around Brexit.
The cuts will affect agency workers at the company’s Solihull and Castle Bromwich plants.
In a statement, JLR said: “In light of the continuing headwinds impacting the car industry, we are making some adjustments to our production schedules and the level of agency staff.”
In January, the company said it would temporarily reduce production at its Halewood plant later this year in response to weakening demand and tax hikes on diesel cars, but it did not detail any job losses.
Jaguar sales are down 26% so far this year, while Land Rover demand dropped 20% in its home market as buyers shun diesel following concerns over planned tax rises and possible bans and restrictions in several countries.