The move comes after the decision to lay off 1,200 workers in the U.K., taken by Nissan at the beginning of the year. While in Britain, the Nissan layoffs did some damage, Mexico sees the entire economy under threat, as the Japanese company is the second largest automaker in the country, after General Motors.
"The industrial slump in Mexico is just getting underway," Luis Arcentales, a Morgan Stanley economist, was quoted as saying by autonews.com.
The current crisis comes as a result of the drop in demand from the U.S. market, Mexico's primary export partner. Even if it was announced as a temporary measure, the Aguascalientes plant could be closed for more than 28 days, as “necessity demands”, Nissan Mexico spokesman Israel Ortega said.
Moreover, the Cuernavaca plant will be closed for at least 12 days, as the demand for the Tsuru model produced here also dropped. As if this wasn't enough, Israel Ortega declared that Nissan is prepared to lay off some 6,000 workers from Aguascalientes.
The Japanese automaker built its first factory in Mexico in the 1960's. Since then, five other car manufacturers have come to Mexico, including BMW and Mercedes Benz. With the current state of affairs in the industry, things don't look at all good for Mexico, the local government expecting the economy to enter recession in the first part of the year.
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