Nissan is set to shut down seven of its primary plants and cut 20,000 jobs globally as it grapples with a significant drop in profits.
The Japanese company, which employs approximately 6,000 people at its Sunderland plant and thousands more in its supply chain, made the announcement as part of its 2024 financial results, which uncovered a net loss of 670.9bn Yen (£3.4bn).
In reaction to these losses, Nissan has unveiled its Re:Nissan recovery plan, which includes substantial cost savings across its worldwide operations. As part of the plan, 20,000 jobs will be lost between now and 2027, more than doubling the initial target of 9,000 roles.
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The Sunderland plant was spared the brunt of the previous cuts, with one production shift being eliminated but no job losses.
At this point, Nissan has not specified which of its global plants it intends to close, but a presentation from its new CEO and president Ivan Espinosa highlighted plans to ramp up model production in Sunderland, reports .
Mr Espinosa said: "In Europe we will strengthen our presence by assembling more electrified models in Sunderland, utilising also our Alliance relationship with Renault to take advantage of their assembly line and electric vehicle architecture."
The firm anticipates that market conditions in the coming year will "continue be challenging" due to competition, inflationary pressures, the impact of US tariffs and exchange rates.
Mr Espinosa said the results were a "wake up call" adding: "In the face of challenging FY24 performance and rising variable costs, compounded by an uncertain environment, we must prioritize self-improvement with greater urgency and speed, aiming for profitability that relies less on volume.
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"As new management, we are taking a prudent approach to reassess our targets and actively seek every possible opportunity to implement and ensure a robust recovery. Re:Nissan is an action-based recovery plan clearly outlines what we need to do now. All employees are committed to working together as a team to implement this plan, with the goal of returning to profitability by fiscal year 2026."
The warning comes after Alan Johnson, senior vice president for manufacturing for Nissan's Africa, Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania operation, expressed concerns last month that the 海角视频 was no longer a competitive location for car manufacturing, urging the Government to provide support.
He highlighted that Nissan's Sunderland factory faces higher electricity costs than any other Nissan plant worldwide, in addition to high costs for training and establishing a 海角视频-based supply chain.
Furthermore, Nissan has cautioned that the Government's zero-emission vehicle mandate, which imposes fines on car manufacturers for failing to meet electric vehicle sales targets, poses a threat to the future of its 海角视频 operations, prompting Ministers to revisit the regulations. However, the firm did invest in Jatco, a company it partially owns, to establish a plant in Sunderland that manufactures parts for the Wearside factory.