LONDON (AP) -- Japanese automaker Nissan said Thursday it will slash its British workforce by 1,200 as it lowers production in anticipation of a grim economic year.
Nissan Motor Manufacturing Ltd., the company's British unit, said it will cut shifts from both of its production lines at its plant in Sunderland, in northern England, which currently employs about 5,000 people.
Spokesman David Swerdlow said the cuts were a result of the "way customer demand is going right now."
Carmakers in Britain and across the world have been hit hard by the global economic downturn.
Nissan said the figure included 400 staff on temporary contracts, which would not be renewed when they expire in January. Swerdlow said the company planned to complete the rest of the cuts by May.
