Nissan announcement 'very, very worrying' Sunderland MP has said

Sunderland Central MP Julie Elliott was speaking as the car giant announced it is to axe 12.500 jobs from its global workforce.

There is no word yet as to where the cuts will fall, through it is believed the company’s American operation is set to bear the brunt.

Julie Elliott said the Sunderland plant’s workforce was a major asset in its favour, and called for clarity from Government over Brexit.

“The figures announced by Nissan this morning are very, very worrying, “ she said, “very bad results, but set against the background of a world car industry in crisis.

“The Sunderland plant is very productive – we have a brilliant workforce and that has to be in our favour.

“The current uncertainty around Brexit cannot help.”

Alex Buttle, director of car selling comparison website Motorway.co.uk, also called for more clarity on Brexit: “The new Government should be doing everything it can to protect the future of the British car industry, and that means ensuring at the very least that a no-deal Brexit is categorically off the table, and if it isn’t, what protections will be put in place?

“Sadly this could be a taste of things to come if Boris Johnson does nothing to protect or reassure an already beleaguered domestic auto manufacturing sector.

“Striding ahead with a no-deal Brexit could see the Prime Minister leaving a once-thriving sector to rot.”