Car maker Nissan says it is open to sharing factories around the world with its Chinese state-owned partner Dongfeng as it shakes up its business.
The Japanese firm, which employs thousands of people in the UK, told the BBC it could bring Dongfeng “into the Nissan production eco-system globally.”
This week, the struggling company said it would lay off 11,000 workers and shut seven factories but did not say where the cuts would be made.
Speaking about Nissan’s UK plant on Thursday at a conference organised by the Financial Times, its boss Ivan Espinosa said: “We have announced that we are launching new cars in Sunderland… In the very short term, there’s no intention to go around Sunderland.”
Nissan’s revelation it is willing to strengthen ties with the Chinese firm comes as the UK’s trade relationship with China is in the spotlight.
On Wednesday, the UK government moved to rebutt suggestions the tariff agreement it reached with the US last week could be damaging to China.
It said there was “no such thing as a veto on Chinese investment” in the deal.
The UK-US agreement rowed back on big hikes in tariffs on metals and cars imposed by US President Donald Trump, but it also included conditions requiring the UK to “promptly meet” US demands on the “security of the supply chains” of steel and aluminium products exported to America.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London said China had “made representations to the UK, asking for clarification”.
“China is firmly opposed to any party seeking a deal at the expense of China’s interests. Should that situation arise, China will respond as necessary.”
Nissan’s latest job cuts came on top of 9,000 layoffs announced in November as it faces weak sales in key markets such as the US and China.
The total cuts will hit 15% of its workforce as part of a cost saving effort that it said would reduce its global production by a fifth.
Nissan’s own brands have struggled to make in-roads in China, which is the world’s biggest car market, as stiff competition has led to falling prices.
It has partnered with Beijing-controlled Dongfeng for more than 20 years and they currently work together to build cars in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Nissan employs around 133,500 people globally, with about 6,000 workers in Sunderland.
The firm has also faced a number of leadership changes and failed merger talks with its larger rival Honda.
Negotiations between the two collapsed in February after the firms were unable to agree on a multi-billion-dollar tie-up.
After the failure of the talks, then-chief executive Makoto Uchida was replaced by Mr Espinosa, who was the company’s chief planning officer and head of its motorsports division.
This week, Nissan also reported an annual loss of 670bn yen ($4.6bn; £3.4bn), with US President Donald Trump’s tariffs putting further pressure on the struggling firm.
This month, Nissan’s battery partner AESC secured a £1bn ($1.3bn) funding package from the UK government for a new plant in Sunderland.
It will produce batteries for the Juke and Leaf electric models.
Visiting the site, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the move would “deliver much-needed high-quality, well-paid jobs to the North East”.
