Nissan, a auto manufacturer, says it is willing to collaborate with Dongfeng, a state-owned subsidiary in China as it transforms its operations.
The Japanese company, which has a workforce of tens of thousands in the UK, claimed to be able to “into the Nissan production eco-system internationally” with Dongfeng.
The struggling business announced this week that it would throw off 11, 000 workers and shut down seven companies, but it would not specify where the reduces may be made.
Ivan Espinosa, the company’s CEO, said at a meeting held by the Financial Times on Thursday about Nissan’s UK plant:” We have announced that we are launching new vehicles in Sunderland… There is no purpose to go around Sunderland in the very near future.
As Nissan struggles with declining sales in important areas like the US and China, its most recent job slashes came on top of the 9, 000 layoffs that were announced in November.
As part of a cost-savings initiative, it claimed it would reduce its global manufacturing by a second. The full reductions will affect 15 % of its workforce.
Due to stiff competition and falling prices, Nissan’s individual brands have struggled to enter China, which is the largest car market in the world.
It has worked with Dongfeng, which is owned by Beijing, for more than 20 years, and they are now collaborating to build cars in Wuhan, China.
Worldwide, Nissan has 133,500 employees, with about 6,500 of them in Sunderland.
Additionally, the business has had to undergo a number of management changes and unsuccessful consolidation negotiations with its bigger rival Honda.
After the two companies couldn’t come to a multi-billion dollar tie-up, agreements broke down in February.
After the talks ended, former company chief executive Makoto Uchida was replaced by Mr. Espinosa, who was the company’s main planning commander and mind of its motorsports division.
Nissan also reported a 670 billion yen loss this week ($ 4.6 billion,$ 3.4 billion ), with US President Donald Trump’s tariffs putting pressure on the struggling business even more.
AESC, Nissan’s battery partner, received a £1 billion ($ 1.3 billion ) funding offer from the UK government for a new Sunderland plant this month.
The Juke and Leaf electric designs may be powered by batteries produced by it.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves stated while visiting the location that the move do “deliver much-needed high-quality, well-paid tasks to the North East”.