Nissan informed the unions this Monday of its intention to initiate an ERE (employment regulation file) that will affect its three centers in Catalonia: the technical center in Barcelona’s Zona Franca, the spare parts center in El Prat, and the flexible areas center – such as human resources or prevention – also in El Prat. The exact impact will be known in the coming weeks as negotiations progress, but the impact is greater than what the unions feared a few days ago, which pointed mainly to the spare parts center. In total, 569 people work in these centers. With this measure, Nissan deepens its industrial exit from Catalonia, where it closed its car assembly plant in 2021. Today the plant is occupied by Ebro.
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The company and unions met this Monday morning with the mediation of Treball. At this meeting, which was to discuss the indefinite strike called at the spare parts center due to fears of adjustments, the measure was proposed by Nissan. The strike remains called, starting at 00:00 this Tuesday, although it will be activated if convenient. The negotiation process will open with the constitution of the table, between unions and Nissan Motor Ibérica (NMISA), which is expected by May 6 at the latest due to legal deadlines. The details will be revealed there.
The exact impact of the measure will be known during negotiations
In a statement, the works councils of the centers state that it is a decision “of enormous gravity and with a strong social and labor impact,” which is unilateral and represents “a new attack on employment.” They oppose the layoffs and call for exploring organizational, labor, and productive alternatives. Nissan states that there are “objective reasons” for the adjustment and that the company is “in a transformation plan” to turn the business around after heavy losses, estimated at almost 3 billion euros for the current fiscal year.
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Workers fear that the El Prat spare parts center, with 122 employees, will close or see its activity reduced to a minimum, despite claiming there is a workload. It is responsible for distributing parts, accessories, and spare parts to the network in Spain and other countries. Meanwhile, 383 people work in the technical center – with tasks such as engineering and product service – and the remaining 64 in various areas. The negotiation will determine the impacts per center. Until then, the unions are asking to stop the “irregular” departures that were already occurring. Workers do not rule out pressure or mobilization measures if the company does not open up to negotiate.
Nissan, in the midst of a global transformation plan, estimates losses of 3 billion this year
Union sources explain that the measure “is another disappointment with Nissan.” The file is another step in the dismantling of the Japanese company’s industrial footprint in Catalonia, four years after the closure of the Zona Franca, Montcada, and Sant Andreu de la Barca plants, which affected 2,500 workers. The closure initiated a reindustrialization process that culminated in the installation of car manufacturer Ebro and its partner Chery in Zona Franca and Montcada.
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