NISSAN yesterday revealed it has made all of the 1,200 planned redundancies at its North-East plant without any compulsory job losses.

The Japanese car giant said in January it would be making the cuts at its Sunderland plant – which involved 800 full-time and 400 temporary workers, and amounted to almost a quarter of the workforce at the factory – as it battled to cope with the massive decline in the motor industry.

A joint consultation committee was immediately set up, comprising Nissan management, workers and the Unite trade union, to ensure as many of the 1,200 redundancies as possible were made by voluntary means.

Yesterday, as the 90-day consultation period with affected workers ended, the group’s work was hailed as a success when it was confirmed that all 1,200 job cuts have been voluntary redundancies.

But while this round of redundancies has been concluded, a senior executive at Sunderland warned more job losses in the future could not be ruled out.

Trevor Mann, senior vicepresident for manufacturing in Europe, said: “We will continue to closely monitor what remains a highly volatile market, and remain ready to take further action if needed to protect the company during unprecedented economic conditions, and position Nissan for strong growth once the crisis ends.”

Mr Mann praised staff at the Sunderland plant for their co-operation during an extremely difficult time, and commended the efforts of the joint consultation committee.

“Although regrettable, we have had to do this. I believe we have managed the situation in the best way possible by placing a priority on minimising the impact right-sizing has had on our employees and their families,” he said.

The Nissan Response Group, which was set up to help support affected workers, and included agencies such as One North East (One), JobCentre Plus and the North-East Chamber of Commerce, also said it was pleased with the outcome of the consultation.

Alan Clarke, chairman of the Nissan Response Group and chief executive of regional development agency One, said: “Nissan, staff and Unite have worked hard to reach the point where no employee is having to leave the company through compulsory redundancy.

“There is no doubt that this has been a difficult and stressful time for employees and their families, and it is welcome news that the right sizing of the workforce has been achieved through voluntary redundancies only.”