Union seeks answers over Nissan’s British factory as Honda merger looms

Thousands of workers at Nissan’s giant UK car factory are facing uncertainty after the firm entered merger talks with competitor Honda.

Trade union Unite has sought assurances after details emerged of the planned tie-up of the major Japanese firms, together with smaller rival Mitsubishi – bringing together three companies with a combined value of £46billion.

The companies argue that combining their firepower makes sense as they fight back against the likes of Tesla as well as cheaper Chinese manufacturers such as BYD amid the switch to electric vehicles. 

The combined group after a Nissan-Honda merger would have annual sales of nearly £182billion, making it the third biggest car manufacturer in the world, and employ 360,000 people.

It adds to the uncertainty surrounding Nissan’s Sunderland plant. Last month, the Japanese giant announced proposals to cut 9,000 jobs, or 7 per cent of its global workforce.

However, the tie-up could be a boost to Sunderland if, as has been speculated, it means a return for Honda to the UK using some of the spare capacity at the plant.

Changing gear: Nissan did not say whether or how the Sunderland plant will be affected

Currently, the factory, Britain’s biggest car plant, employs more than 6,000 people and builds the Qashqai, Juke and Leaf models.

Nissan did not say whether or how Sunderland might be affected by the announcement made yesterday.

Unite union’s national officer for automotive Steve Bush said: ‘Unite will be monitoring the progress of the merger talks closely and seeking assurances from Nissan about any potential impact on its UK operations.’

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