Despite the recent boost to Nissan’s British production plant, with the launch of the new Qashqai midsize SUV as the first model to use its third-generation e-Power powertrain, it will see job cuts as the automaker seeks to trim its global labor costs by 15%.
The automaker says it will enter negotiations with labor representatives at the Sunderland plant in the U.K.’s northeast, its main production hub for Europe, to discuss voluntary retirements and redundancies that could see the loss of 250 jobs, Reuters reports.
“We will begin discussions with some of our employees at the Sunderland plant this week about voluntary retirement opportunities and support from the company,” Nissan says in a company statement.
In a separate development, Nissan reportedly is asking suppliers in Europe to accept delayed settlement of invoices with later payments to include interest payments.
The move is seen as a way for new CEO Ivan Espinosa to boost the company’s cash reserves as part of a strategy to find $3.4 billion in cost savings during the next two years.
