Top British union meets Nissan on scrapping of plans for new X-Trail
Unite wants clarity on carmaker's intentions for employees in the light of Brexit uncertainty
London — Representatives of ritain’s biggest union, Unite, and Nissan are meeting on Monday after the Japanese carmaker scrapped plans to build its next-generation X-Trail model at its Sunderland plant in northern England. Falling demand for diesel cars in Europe has forced Nissan to invest in other technologies as the segment is hit by levies and crackdowns. But the company also said the “continued uncertainty around the UK’s future relationship with the EU is not helping companies like ours to plan for the future,” prompting renewed fear that Brexit was hitting the economy. “I think that is a serious signal to all of us in parliament that now is the time to resolve that uncertainty so it doesn’t impinge on any decisions in the future,” business minister Greg Clark said on BBC TV. Britain secured the Nissan investment just four months after the June 2016 vote to leave the EU with promises to maintain the competitiveness of the plant. Since then, MPs rejected the government-negotiat...
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