Nissan Plans 900 European Job Cuts, Spares Sunderland

Nissan Motor Co. announced plans Tuesday to merge two production lines into one at its Sunderland plant in northeast England, while opening consultations with European employees that could eliminate around 900 jobs across the continent, roughly 10 percent of its regional workforce.

The Japanese automaker emphasized that the line consolidation at Sunderland, its largest European manufacturing site with more than 6,000 employees, would not result in any job losses there. The facility, the biggest private-sector employer in the region, produces the all-electric Leaf, Juke and Qashqai models. Production last year totaled 273,174 vehicles, down from peaks exceeding half a million.

A Nissan spokeswoman stated, "Under the ReNissan recovery plan, we have been taking decisive actions to enhance performance and create a leaner, more resilient business that adapts quickly to market changes. As part of this approach, today we have opened discussions with our European employees with a view to simplifying our structures, reducing complexity, and ensuring we operate in a sustainable and profitable way."

The discussions also cover the partial closure of Nissan's Barcelona parts warehouse and a...