Nissan extends Easter closure in UK due to parts delays

Nissan said the impact on the 5,000 workers at its Sunderland plant would be kept to a minimum

Carmaker Nissan is to suspend production in the UK for three days due to parts shortages caused by the Japan earthquake.

The stoppage at its Sunderland plant is in addition to the planned Easter closure at the end of the month.

On Wednesday, Honda said that it would halve production at its Swindon plant from next week.

The car and the electronics industries are expected to be most affected by last month's disaster in Japan.

Temporary stoppage

Nissan said it would try to minimise the impact on production and on its 5,000 staff at the plant, by substituting non-production days that had already been planned for later in the year.

"Demand for all Sunderland-produced models remains high, and once the normal delivery of components has been re-established, the plant will work to recover any lost volume as quickly as possible," said the manufacturer.

In its latest earthquake update, Nissan said it was able to resume normal operations at all of its Japanese plants except for the Iwaki Engine Plant, which will only restart in mid-April.

However, the previous interruption of production still leaves the company short of some inventories, which is affecting car assembly.