NEW Nissan boss Colin Dodge last night played down fears that 1,500 jobs were on the line.

Union leaders united with the managing director of the company's plant at Washington, on Wearside, after a newspaper reported that Mr Dodge was flying to Japan for an emergency meeting with Nissan officials.

An article said the company needed assurances it would get the contract to build the next generation Almera or risk losing 1,500 jobs.

In November, The Northern Echo reported that securing the Almera contract would be a crucial move for the Washington operation. The company has yet to lose a contract of that nature.

The plant's exceptional productivity stands it in the forefront of any decision and, as the euro strengthens on a daily basis against the pound, it is becoming steadily more competitive on a cost front.

Mr Dodge told The Northern Echo: "To say this is a new threat is wrong. I fly to Japan every three months. When I go there towards the end of this year the Almera will be one of the agenda items.

"When you replace products, it is always a threat if you cannot secure a contract. But the North-East has a good success story going on here and I plan to continue that."

Mel Barras, regional officer for Amicus which represents 797 of the 4,600 Nissan workforce, said: "I am really confident that for the foreseeable future, Nissan is going in the right direction. They will be bidding for the new model Almera and, hopefully, they will get it.

"Because of the global markets, no one can say they have a job for life now. I am never going to say Nissan is never going to get in trouble, but for now and the foreseeable, things are very rosy for Nissan."

* See Business Echo supplement on Wednesday for a profile of the new man in charge of Nissan's North-East affairs