- Unite warns six more battery factories urgently needed just
to ‘stay at the races'
Nissan's new gigafactory is a ‘fantastic first but cannot be the
last', if the UK auto sector is to have the future it deserves,
the country's leading car industry union, Unite, warned today
(Thursday 1 July).
The UK urgently needs another six giga-factories to be built
across the country over the next few years, says the union, just
to keep pace with our competitors and secure the long-term future
of the automotive sector, as it transitions from combustion
engines to hybrid and full electric vehicles.
The call came as , Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing,
joined the union’s shop stewards and the Nissan management team
and workforce, alongside senior cabinet ministers, to unveil
plans for the new facility in Sunderland, which will secure
Nissan’s future and bring over 2,000 new jobs to the area.
The government is part funding the development.
Speaking at the Sunderland plant, said: "Today is a vital step forward in securing a
cleaner, greener future for our industry.
"Nissan and this incredible workforce were determined that
Sunderland should lead the pack as we transition to electric
vehicles and today they have delivered.
"They have battled for years to convince the government to
support and invest in UK battery manufacturing, and today’s very
welcome announcement will bring much-needed job security to the
plant and thousands of new skilled jobs to the region.
"Today is their victory and I am so proud of the role our union,
Unite, played in supporting them every step of the way.
"But this fantastic first must not be the last.
"We need at least another six giga-factories to secure the UK's
future as a green auto manufacturer, with investment in the
domestic manufacture of the high value components all urgently
needed to successfully transition this industry and consumers
away from the combustion engine.
"So, I urge the government not to rest on its laurels. Ministers
must say more today about when these sites will be forthcoming.
No loose promises for the future. Our economy and UK
manufacturing demands investment now in the technologies of the
future. Germany, for example, is not waiting around - its
government is already investing over €1 billion in the
construction of facilities to support its automotive heartlands.
"Across the world a green manufacturing revolution is underway.
Businesses and investors are scouring the planet looking for
opportunities to install green infrastructure and technology at
pace and on a huge scale, and they will go where they can see a
committed government partner.
"Unfortunately, the employers I deal with every day are tearing
their hair out with frustration at the UK government's
half-baked, uncoordinated approach to supporting green
manufacturing. So I say to ministers celebrating today, you have
to step up – no more easy soundbites. Miss this moment to deliver
on green jobs and it will not come around again.
"We desperately need a UK battery factory plan not just to
safeguard the UK as a modern-day manufacturing powerhouse but to
signal to global manufacturers that they should invest here and
to consumers that they can buy electric with confidence.
"We will not switch to electric cars or business vehicles, as the
planet urgently needs us to do, unless we are confident that we
can continue to get from A to B without a hitch. This requires
access to a national network of affordable, rapid charge
infrastructure.
"So today is a great day for Nissan workers and they can rightly
celebrate. But for the rest of the country's automotive
manufacturers, from mass producers to the niche market, for
Vauxhall, JLR, Ford, Toyota and BMW, we need a resilient UK
component supply chain and six more giga-factories, and we need
them now. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake.”
