Around 350 North East jobs are at risk after the Japanese owners of an automotive supplier announced plans to end production at two regional plants. Tokyo based NSK announced it has launched a consultation to close its NSK Bearing and AKS Precision Ball sites in Peterlee as part of “structural reforms”.
The business produces bearings for customers including Volkswagen and Renault and the majority of its products, used in petrol and diesel and electric vehicles, are shipped to Europe. But NSK says it has seen “persistent challenges in the profitability of locally manufactured products”, prompting the plans to shut the site.
It says it plans to close no later than March 2027. The announcement by NSK’s European manufacturing subsidiaries, NSK Bearings Europe Ltd and AKS Precision Ball Europe Ltd, said it has: “Entered into formal collective consultation with its union and elected representatives on a proposal to withdraw production from the sites in County Durham.
“In line with its mid-term business plan 2026, NSK is advancing structural reforms in its European operations. Due to persistent challenges in the profitability of locally manufactured products, NSK has been implementing measures such as withdrawing from unprofitable businesses and reorganizing the production sites.
“The proposed withdrawal production from the Peterlee site is part of these ongoing structural reforms. Going forward, NSK will engage in careful consultations with all relevant stakeholders regarding the potential withdrawal.
“If closure proceeds, we envisage this would be no later than March 2027 and the company will implement all necessary measures to support all circa 350 employees who may be affected.”
Unite union said the closure plans are a complete mistake and should be reversed. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham claims NSK has earmarked the sites for closure despite both hitting their performance targets and having long term viability.
She said: “This is a complete betrayal by NSK of its County Durham workforce, who have broken their backs hitting performance targets that they were told would keep their factories safe. There is a viable business case for keeping these sites open and Unite will fight tooth and nail for that to happen.”
The union says automotive parts suppliers are being impacted by the low volume crisis hitting car manufacturers during the transition away from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, and is demanding Government action to support automotive jobs while demand picks up.
National officer Steve Bush said: “NSK doesn’t need to close these factories and Unite will be forcefully making that point during consultations. Ensuring their future should be a no brainer for the government, as bearings will still be needed for cars long after diesel and petrol engines have been phased out.
“Once again, alarm bells are ringing for ministers to urgently put a comprehensive plan together to support the Ƶ automotive industry and its supply chain though this turbulent transition and safeguard the countless jobs the sector supports.”
Latest accounts for NSK Bearings Europe Ltd, which has sites in Peterlee and Newark, were filed last week and cover the year ended March 31 2025. They show revenue dipped from £180m to £170m, while pre-tax profit halved from £7.2m to £3.5m. Its total comprehensive expense for the year was £2.79m, up from a loss of £26.6m. Across the Newark and Peterlee sites NSK Bearings had 620 staff in the year, down from 669.
Meanwhile AKS Precision Ball Europe Ltd’s most recent filed accounts cover the year ended March 31 2024 and show sales dropped from £17m to £13.8m, with directors citing “a decrease in demand for the company’s product, due to a decrease in the production of new cars within the automotive industry”. Its loss for the year widened from £2m to £2.5m.
Directors said that trading environment was expected to remain competitive in 2024. However, they added in their report: “We are confident that the business is well placed going forward to maintain its market share through continuing efforts in our quality-based sales strategy." In the 2024 financial year AKS Precision Ball had 91 employees, down from 100 the previous year.
