Nissan celebrates launch of new Juke at Sunderland plant - but confirms loss of night shift

The first of the new Nissan Juke has rolled off the production line at the Sunderland plant today, amid changes to staff shift patterns.

On Wednesday night it was confirmed that the plant’s night shift would be ending with staff moving onto production Line Two on a two shift pattern.

The Japanese car giant has said that no jobs will be lost as a result of the change in shifts and headcount will remain the same.

Nissan Europe Chairman Gianluca de Ficchy, visited the plant on Thursday. He said: “The new Juke represents a further £100m investment in our Sunderland plant and is designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK for European customers.

“Thirty-five years ago Nissan decided to create a plant in the UK to serve our European markets. Ten million vehicles later, Sunderland is the biggest UK car plant in history and the all-new Juke is the most connected Nissan car.

“With more than 35,000 jobs supported by Nissan in the UK, I would like to thank our experienced and skilled teams and our wider supply base, for their efforts in bringing this all-new model to life.”

Developed by Nissan’s European design teams in the UK 70% of Juke production will be for the EU markets, with two thirds of its suppliers based in the EU.

Staff have undergone more than 5,000 hours of training to support the launch, and the factory been upgraded to deliver the new Juke’s.

Steve Marsh, Nissan Vice President for Manufacturing in the UK, said: “We are thrilled to see the Juke in production. Our million Juke fans across Europe will be able to see it on the roads very soon.

“Juke is a big part of our plant’s heritage, so it is a proud moment to see the new model rolling off the line.”