Thousands of Sunderland Nissan jobs safe as company commits to area "for the long term"

Thousands of jobs are safe as an international car manufacturer announces that it will not be shutting down its Sunderland plant.

Nissan, which employs 6,000 staff in the North East plant, warned last year that the UK’s departure from the European Union would make continued production “unsustainable”.

However, it has now confirmed that the plant is secure for the long term, and that it will move additional battery production to the area.

It has not confirmed if this increase in production will result in additional jobs.

Ashwani Gupta, Nissan’s chief operating officer, commented: “The Brexit deal is positive for Nissan.

“Being the largest automaker in the UK we are taking this opportunity to redefine auto-making in the UK.

“It has created a competitive environment for Sunderland, not just inside the UK but outside as well.

“We’ve decided to localise the manufacture of the 62KW battery in Sunderland so that all our products qualify [for tariff-free export to countries in the EU].

“We are committed to Sunderland for the long term under the business conditions that have been agreed.”

Kwasi Kwarteng, business secretary, said: “Nissan’s decision represents a genuine belief in Britain and a huge vote of confidence in our economy thanks to the certainty our trade deal with the EU delivers.

“For the dedicated and highly-skilled workforce in Sunderland, it means the city will be home to Nissan’s latest models for years to come and positions the company to capitalise on the wealth of benefits that will flow from electric vehicle production.”

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