Following January’s news that Nissan is cutting 1,200 jobs at its Sunderland plant, February has begun on a better note with the recommencement of the second shift on Line 2 next week, nearly two months ahead of schedule.
“I can confirm we will be reinstating a second shift on Line 2 from February 9th,” NMUK spokesman David Swerdlow told Automotive Logistics. “The plan at the moment is to monitor this on a weekly basis and maintain the additional shift for as long as is needed.”
The second shift, which makes the Micra and Note models, wasn’t due to start again until April but increased demand in France, Holland and Russia for those models has led to the provisional advance.
It is good news for finished vehicle carrier Autologic, which will take the models to the Port of Tyne for shipment to Europe by EMC. Likewise, it will see an increase in business for the three carriers handling shipment in the respective markets. CAT will handle the movement of vehicles to France, Koopman will handle movements to Holland and RTL is handling the shipment on to Russia.
The resumption of activity on Line 2 coincides with the International Automotive Conference, which will involve a visit to the Nissan Sunderland plant on Thursday 12th February.
