Nissan invests in North-East car plant

CAR manufacturer Nissan has announced plans to invest £2.4m in its North-East plant to cope with high demand for its Qashqai model.

The investment will allow the Sunderland plant to increase production by 20 per cent.

The firm said the order bank in Europe for the Qashqai - the first entirely British-built Nissan car - is now almost 60,000.

Call for more entries in the North-East Equality AwardsBUSINESSES across the region which have dedicated themselves to promoting equal opportunities in the workplace are being encouraged to enter this year's North-East Equality Awards.

And the event organisers, Equality North-East, is particularly keen to hear from companies in the South of the region after a shortage of entries from Teesside, the Tees Valley and South Durham.

The awards, now in their fourth year, are sponsored by The Northern Echo, and are open to companies, trade unions and individuals who have made efforts to stamp out discrimination at work and employ people from all walks of life.

To enter or for more information, contact Helen Fletcher on 0191-4956262 or email helen@equality-ne.co.uk. The closing date for nominations is Monday, July 16.

High street sales down in MayINTEREST rate hikes and wet weather hit retailers last month, according to figures out today. Like-for-like retail sales rose by 1.8 per cent in May, the weakest growth since last November, the British Retail Consortium said. Sales fell back from the 2.4 per cent like-for-like growth seen in April. For more business news pick up a copy of The Northern Echo