750 workers to be furloughed at Nissan's Sunderland plant
Car manufacturer Nissan has confirmed 750 staff will be furloughed at its Sunderland plant.
The affected workers are from one shift, based on the same manufacturing line and the furlough period will last for one week. However, ITV News Tyne Tees understands there is more disruption coming.
A Nissan spokesperson said:
This problem isn't unique to Nissan. Firms like Volkswagen and Honda have also been affected. It's understood the reason for the shortage is that the semi-conductors that were going into cars, are now being used to meet a huge demand for other types of electronics.
Professor David Bailey, Birmingham Business School
Nissan's plant on Wearside employs around 6,000 staff and opened in 1986.
This year, Nissan unveiled the latest Qashqai, to be built at its plant in Sunderland.
It's the third generation of the car, and was first launched in 2007. It's now the biggest-selling British-built car.
The company described this as a vote of confidence in its UK staff. Most of the models built on Wearside will be exported to Mainland Europe.
Juke and Leaf models are also built at the plant.