Nissan has announced it will close part of its Sunderland plant as it ceases production of cylinder heads for Renault engines, but it does “not expect this to result in job losses”.
The move, which will redeploy the 250 employees to other areas of the factory after production ends in 2024, mirrors plans for the 2023 demise of the Infiniti Powertrain Plant in Tennessee – the product of a tie-up between Mercedes-Benz and Nissan – which will see 400 staff reassigned.
Plans regarding individual employee reassignments at Sunderland, as well as the future of the cylinder head facility, have yet to be drawn up, the car maker has told Autocar.
Nissan said in a statement: “From early 2024, Nissan Sunderland Plant will cease production of cylinder heads on site.
“We do not expect this to result in job losses and are working with staff as we redeploy them to other parts of the business.”
Nissan is expected to follow Ford’s example for the cylinder head facility: the American firm took full control of its Halewood gearbox plant (formerly shared 50:50 with Magna PT) in March 2021 – safeguarding 600 Magna jobs – and announced in October 2021 that it will shift to production of electric powertrains by 2024.
Given Nissan’s existing EV36Zero initiative, aimed at setting Sunderland up for production of a new electric SUV and batteries for 100,000 electric cars annually, it is likely that the cylinder head section will be repurposed to make EV parts.
As for the 250 employees at the cylinder head plant, Nissan is expected to prioritise their retention because of the industry-wide skills shortage.
Human resources expert Lynda Ennis told Autocar in July that “businesses are seriously struggling to capitalise on the opportunities that new technology is bringing” because skilled workers are in short supply.
Ennis also said: “The industry appears to be caught in a perfect storm of technological transformation driving the need for new skills at all levels of seniority, set against a shrinking labour market, post-Brexit restrictions on free movement and fierce competition for sought-after skills from new mobility disruptors and other sectors fishing in the same talent pools."
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