Nissan to cut back by 1,680 workers in Spain

MADRID: Japanese car manufacturer Nissan is laying off 1,680 workers at one of its plants in Spain because of poor demand, a company official said Monday.

Fumiaki Matsumoto, the company's vice president in Spain, said the job cuts would occur at its Barcelona factory, which assembles sport utility vehicles. Matsumoto said the layoffs will affect about 37 percent of Nissan's work force in Spain.

Last month, car sales in Spain fell by 32 percent over the previous year. Matsumoto said Nissan's production in Barcelona for 2009 is estimated at 110,000, down 83,000 vehicles from the 2007 figure.

The remaining work force at the Barcelona site would work two instead of three shifts daily, Matsumoto said.

Matsumoto told a news conference in Barcelona that increased fuel costs, difficulty obtaining loans and new carbon dioxide limitations had all contributed to a downturn in the world's sport utility vehicle market.

Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen have all announced job cuts in Spain in recent weeks.

Spain, Europe's best-performing economy over the last decade, has not yet fallen into recession as many observers had predicted.

However, growth has slowed more sharply than in other major European economies mainly because of the collapse of its key construction industry and tighter credit policies at banks.