Nissan to cut 600 jobs from Barcelona plant

Nissan’s Spanish unit has reached an agreement with unions to cut 600 jobs at its plant in Barcelona, or almost 20 percent of the plant’s workforce.

The layoffs are a mixture of buyouts and early retirements over the next year. They were a condition for a planned investment of 70 million euros ($79 million) in a new painting facility, Nissan said in a statement on Thursday, Automotive News reads.

Nissan reached the agreement after more than a month of negotiations with unions. As part of the deal, any further changes to the workforce are to be negotiated separately with unions.

The factory builds the Nissan Navara, Renault Alaskan and Mercedes-Benz X class pickups, and the NV200 light commercial van, according to Automotive News Europe. It also built the Pulsar until the slow-selling compact hatchback was discontinued in Europe last year.