MP to seek meeting with bosses and unions after Nissan cuts jobs at Sunderland plant

The firm said today, Tuesday, January 26, that it is starting redundancy talks with backroom staff at its Wearside plant, which employs around 7,000 staff.

Around 160 office posts are affected but the company says the consultation does not affect production workers.

The announcement comes after Nissan’s global chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta described the UK’s post-Brexit trade deal with the EU as a positive for the factory.

A spokesman said: “We continually adapt our business to maximise efficiency in line with market conditions and we are currently in consultation with some of our office based staff.”

MP Sharon Hodgson, whose Washington and Sunderland West constituency covers the plant said she was ‘very concerned to hear the news’ and would be seeking talks with the company as son as possible.

The announcement would be distressing for families who had already been hit by uncertainty caused by the Covid pandemic, she added.

"This will be particularly alarming to those workers and their families, at what is already a worrying and uncertain time,” she said.

"I have been told that these reductions are not related to either COVID or Brexit impacts, but that is no relief to the workers whose livelihoods are at risk.”

Unite regional officer Nick Halton said he was due to meet with management on Thursday.

The HR1 form the firm had to complete gave some additional details of which jobs were facing the axe, with a total of 157 posts mentioned, made up of 145 professional and 12 managerial positions.

"There are no manual roles – it seems these are back office jobs,” Mr Halton said.

North East England Chamber of Commerce chief executive James Ramsbotham said everyone was finding things difficult in the present climate and having to make difficult decisions to keep going.

"Nissan is no different and in the current challenging times it is more important than ever that they ensure they operate at the right level of expenditure,” he said.

"This strategy means they sometimes have to make tough decisions with regard to their workforce and while we understand this we also recognise any redundancy announcements are hard for the individuals concerned.”

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