Nissan stops making engine cylinder heads in Sunderland facility

Nissan has announced the closure of its Wearside cylinder head-making plant, which will disrupt employee statuses around the company, directly affecting 250 jobs. From the year 2024, the production line of cylinder heads that are either made of cast iron or cast aluminium will be discontinued at the Sunderland facility due to the lapse of an agreement with the French car maker Renault.

On August 23, a spokesperson from Nissan commented: "We do not expect this to result in job losses and are working with staff as we redeploy them to other parts of the business." Nissan, the Japanese innovator, has promised its derailed workers jobs at other outlets of the company.

Cylinder heads are usually comprised of cast iron or cast aluminium materials and function as the motherboard of the engine, igniting or controlling it with intake, exhaust or fuel systems.

These parts have been manufactured in the Sunderland plant of Nissan for more than three decades.

The MP for Washington and Sunderland West, Sharon Hodgson, revealed that she had met with Nissan representatives already to chalk out their acknowledgement of the closure. She also plans to have future discussions with union representatives.

Sharon Hodgson quoted: "It is concerning that Nissan will be losing this operation, especially for the 250 workers, but Nissan has assured me that there will be no job losses as all staff will be redeployed within Nissan."

"I will also meet with Unite officials as soon as can be arranged," she added.

Previously, this year, it was declared that Nissan would jointly contribute billions of pounds with Renault and Mitsubishi to build a greater electric vehicles market over the upcoming few years.

This triad formed by the car makers has assured consumers that 35 new vehicles would be developed and launched in the next five years, alluding to five common platforms. Nissan Micra will have a modified heir to its name. The trio also signalled toward an evolving EV market with a rapid influx of battery production worldwide.

Nissan had begun its Sunderland operations in 1986, employing almost 6,000 heads.