Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. will end night shifts at its manufacturing facility in the northern England city of Sunderland, union Unite said in a release Oct. 9.
Unite Assistant General Secretary Steve Turner said the Japanese carmaker will consolidate production into the remaining day shifts to avoid layoffs.
"Unite has been aware of this announcement for some time and our officers and reps at the plant have been working hard to ensure that the full workforce is protected," Turner said.
A Nissan spokesman told S&P Global Market Intelligence that "extra manufacturing staff will be needed on the plant's production Line Two" to support the production of the new Juke model.
"In a restructuring of the production schedule, these staff will transfer from production Line One, with both lines operating on a two-shift pattern. Overall headcount at the plant will remain the same," the company spokesman added.
The Sunderland plant produces the Leaf, Qashqai, Juke, Infiniti Q30 and Infiniti QX30 models.
The announcement comes a week after the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the matter, that Nissan will consider pulling Qashqai production from the Sunderland site in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The factory reportedly employs about 7,000 workers.
Nissan told the Financial Times Oct. 1 that its plans to make Qashqai cars in the U.K. have not changed but that it is "still waiting for clarity" on the U.K.'s exit from the bloc.
