North East car manufacturer Nissan has announced production will be suspended at its Sunderland plant until further notice.
As the Covid-19 crisis heightens and market demand falls, the firm released a statement confirming suspension will continue and that it will continue to assess supply chain disruption.
It is, however, understood that the firm, which has a 6,000 strong workforce in Sunderland while supporting a further 24,000 in its supply chain, will continue paying its staff during the disruption.
Production lines first came to a halt on Tuesday when Nissan announced it was putting production on hold this week because of disruption to its supply chains and a drop in market demand, both caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The firm joins other car makers in shutting down production including Vauxhall, Peugeot, Renault and Jaguar Land Rover. Bentley Motors has also now suspended production for four weeks at its Crewe factory.
Car plants in Spain and Italy had already been closed to protect staff and slow the spread of the virus.
In a statement, Nissan, which makes 440,000 cars at the Wearside plant each year, said: “Nissan today announced further measures in its European manufacturing operations in response to the COVID-19 emergency.
“The company is following all advice from national governments and has implemented a range of measures to ensure the welfare of employees and communities. Additionally, Nissan is ready to support any initiatives where its manufacturing and engineering expertise can be useful.
“On Tuesday March 17th, vehicle production in Nissan Sunderland Plant was suspended due to the COVID-19 emergency.
“This suspension will now continue until further notice. We will continue to assess supply chain disruption and market demand as the situation evolves.”
