NSK plans to close UK factories, putting 350 jobs at risk

Japanese automotive parts supplier NSK is proposing to unopen 2 of its County Durham plants successful northeast England, putting astir 350 roles astatine risk.

The European manufacturing subsidiaries of NSK, NSK Bearings Europe and AKS Precision Ball Europe, person begun ceremonial corporate consultation to retreat accumulation from the sites.

If the closures of the sites proceed, they would instrumentality spot nary aboriginal than March 2027, according to the company, arsenic it restructures its European operations.

In its statement, NSK said it is “advancing structural reforms successful its European operations. Due to persistent challenges successful the profitability of locally manufactured products, NSK has been implementing measures specified arsenic withdrawing from unprofitable businesses and reorganising the accumulation sites.

“The projected withdrawal accumulation from the Peterlee tract is portion of these ongoing structural reforms. Going forward, NSK volition prosecute successful cautious consultations with each applicable stakeholders regarding the imaginable withdrawal.”

Workers’ national Unite has urged NSK to scrap its program to unopen the sites, which nutrient automotive bearings.

The national said the Peterlee plants proviso Volkswagen and Renault, with astir of its output - components utilized successful some interior combustion and electrical vehicles - exported to mainland Europe.

It argued that portion parts makers are being deed by debased accumulation volumes arsenic carmakers modulation to electrical models, bearings volition stay indispensable careless of powertrain.

Unite besides called for authorities enactment to support automotive jobs until request recovers.

Unite wide caput Sharon Graham said: “This is simply a implicit betrayal by NSK of its County Durham workforce, who person breached their backs hitting show targets that they were told would support their factories safe. There is simply a viable concern lawsuit for keeping these sites unfastened and Unite volition combat bony and nail for that to happen.”

NSK did not supply a quantitative forecast of the interaction connected its concern performance.

NSK said: “We volition behaviour a thorough appraisal and pass the results promptly erstwhile the grade of the interaction has been clarified.”

"NSK plans to adjacent UK factories, putting 350 jobs astatine risk" was primitively created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.

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