TOKYO -- Nissan will furlough about 800 workers at its Sunderland plant in England, as output slows there because of a semiconductor shortage, the Nikkei newspaper reported.
The workers, who represent about a tenth of the workforce at the facility, will be asked to stay away until the chip shortage eases and production can increase, the Nikkei said, without saying where it got the information.
A Nissan spokeswoman was not able to immediately comment.
Nissan builds the Leaf full-electric car, and the Qashqai and Juke crossovers in Sunderland.
Automakers around the world are struggling with a chip shortage caused by strong demand from makers of smartphones and other consumer electronics amid the COVID pandemic.
A fire at a Japanese auto chip plant last month has further squeezed supplies.
Nissan plans to cut production at several factories in Japan next month, sources earlier told Reuters.
Sunderland will become Nissan's only European plant after the brand shuts its Barcelona factory at the end of the year.
