MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th August, 2020) Nissan Motor, the owner of Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands, will postpone the closure of three factories in Barcelona as preliminary agreed during talks with Spanish unions, media reported on Thursday.
Nissan announced the intention to close its Barcelona plants in May. By that time, the production in Catalonia, a Spanish autonomous region to which Barcelona is a capital, was already below target levels for over a year and the coronavirus pandemic only exacerbated the situation, causing a temporary closure in March. In early May, workers went on an indefinite strike, demanding clarity on their job security from the management. According to the reported estimates, the closure could leave around 3,000 people jobless and indirectly affect up to 25,000 people, while costing $1billion to Nissan itself.
As reported by Spain's Mundo newspaper, Nissan and the unions agreed that the company would refrain from mass cuts while workers would resume work to keep the plants running until the end of the next year. The deal's initial timeframe was reportedly this December.
� According to the report, the agreement also specified compensations, which turned out to be much higher than provided under the current Spanish labor law. Nissan will reportedly pay around 400 million Euros ($474 million) in compensations to 2,500 workers.
Nissan Divisional Vice President Nissan Motor Russia Frank Torres was quoted as describing the terms as "the best solution for all parties."
Catalan Government President Quim Torra, in turn, welcomed the agreement.
