Around 1,000 Nissan employees gathered outside the Japanese Consulate in Barcelona on Tuesday to protest a collective redundancy plan (ERE). This plan proposes dismissing 211 workers, representing 37% of the remaining workforce across three metropolitan area centres. The demonstration highlighted significant concerns over job security in the region's automotive sector.
Major Job Cuts at Nissan Barcelona Centres
The Japanese multinational plans to dismiss 211 people from its current workforce of 596 employees. These dismissals affect three key work centres in the Barcelona metropolitan area. These include the parts centre in El Prat, the technical, engineering, and product service centre in Zona Franca, and the functional areas centre, also located in El Prat. This reduction forms part of a broader Europe-wide restructuring initiative known as Re:Nissan, which involves 900 dismissals across the continent.
The impact of the ERE varies significantly across these facilities. The functional areas centre faces 15 dismissals out of 64 employees. The technical centre will see 86 dismissals from its 386 staff members. However, the parts centre in El Prat is the most severely affected. It faces 110 dismissals from a total workforce of just 122 people. Union groups have strongly denounced this particular situation, calling it a "covert closure" of the El Prat plant.
Union Disputes and Ongoing Negotiations
The dispute between the company committee and Nissan started on 11 May. Nissan considers this date the beginning of the statutory 30-day consultation period. However, the committee disputes this point. Trade unions argue the company initiated the plan with "formal procedural defects." SIGEN, a trade union, stated that Nissan should have provided six months' notice for the El Prat parts centre. This is because the plan effectively entails its closure. The 12 workers not affected by the ERE at this centre will be relocated to another Nissan facility.
Negotiations between the parties, mediated by the Department of Business and Labour of the Government of Catalonia, reached a stalemate on Tuesday. The next meeting is scheduled for 27 May at 10:00. Representatives from the negotiating table will visit the Labour Inspectorate on Wednesday, 20 May. The social side has requested individual accounts for each centre from Nissan. They hope this data will help separate the financial impact on each plant. Unions question whether different losses genuinely exist across the affected plants.
Political Support and Broader Context
Oriol Junqueras, President of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), joined the demonstrators on Diagonal avenue to show his support, Metrópoli reported. Protesters occupied central lanes, causing temporary traffic delays. Despite the large gathering, no one from the consulate approached the demonstrators to address their concerns.
The Parliament of Catalonia has invited worker representatives for a meeting on Thursday. Barcelona City Council will also address the issue on Friday, 22 May. This latest blow to Catalan industry arrives just months after the Government of Catalonia concluded the Nissan reindustrialisation committee. That committee had worked for five years. The previous ERE in 2020 resulted in 2,500 fewer jobs in the industrial sector. Although Nissan's intention to cut staff became public in April 2025, the current situation highlights ongoing challenges for the region's automotive sector. This affects many families in the Barcelona metropolitan area.
Future Protests and Industry Outlook
Workers at the El Prat parts centre, facing the most significant impact, have requested permission from the Department to reactivate an indefinite strike. For now, daily stoppages are planned outside the centre between 15:30 and 16:30. Occasional traffic disruptions are also expected in the coming days. The unions will consider further measures in the near future. The situation underscores the precarious nature of industrial employment in Catalonia.
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Originally published by Metrópoli Abierta - Urban Life. Read original article.
