LONDON (Kyodo) Nissan Motor Co.'s British manufacturing operation announced Thursday it will ax around 1,200 jobs due to "extremely challenging" conditions in the British car market.
Nissan will become the first Japanese carmaker operating in Britain to cut jobs during the current economic downturn. The cuts represent about a quarter of Nissan's workforce at its plant in Sunderland, northeast England.
Of the total, about 400 temporary workers will be cut by the end of this month with the expiration of their contracts and the remaining 800 regular workers will be cut through an early retirement program and other measures, Nissan said.
Nissan also plans to shorten the operating hours of the two production lines at the British plant through March. Nissan has already announced that it plans to shed all nonregular workers in Japan and 2,500 workers at its factories in the United States and Spain.
Other car manufacturers operating in Britain, including Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., have reduced output due to the slowing economy and many analysts fear job cuts will be announced over the coming months.
The latest move by Nissan is particularly significant because the plant is Britain's largest car exporter and producer, with many of its models being sold in Europe. When combined, the three Japanese companies produce around a half of all Britain's automobiles.
Trevor Mann, Nissan's senior vice president for manufacturing in Europe, said: "Like all manufacturers, the Sunderland plant is currently operating in extraordinary circumstances not of our making. It is essential we take the right action now to ensure we are in a strong and viable position once business conditions return to normal."