Nissan to furlough 800 workers at its UK plant as chip shortage cuts production-Nikkei

TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Nissan Motor
will furlough around 800 workers at its production plant in
Britain, as output slows there because of a semiconductor
shortage, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

The people, who represent about a tenth of the workforce at
the facility in Sunderland, will be asked to stay away until the
chip shortage eases and production can increase, the Nikkei
said, without saying where it got the information.

A Nissan spokeswoman was not able to immediately comment.

Carmakers around the world are struggling with a chip
shortage caused by strong demand from makers of smartphones and
other consumer electronics amid the COVID pandemic. A fire at a
Japanese auto chip plant last month has further squeezed
supplies.

Nissan plans to slash production at several factories in
Japan next month, sources earlier told Reuters.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly)