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Fears are growing that car giant Nissan is on the verge of announcing massive job cuts that would affect its plant in Sunderland.

Reports in Japan suggest that the company will announce on Thursday that it plans to cut 10,000 jobs from its worldwide operations, with most of the cuts coming in Europe.

That would raise huge concerns for employment levels at Nissan’s Sunderland plant, which currently employs around 7,000 people and supports thousands more jobs in the local economy.

Nissan has already cancelled the production of two models at its Sunderland plant this year and has said that Brexit would be harmful to its continuing operations in the UK.

Britain’s moves to leave the EU come as the automotive industry is suffering a global crisis, with slower sales of diesel cars and a slump in demand in China and the US leading to thousands of job losses.

Ford, Honda and Jaguar Land Rover are among firms that have announced major job losses in the UK, while Vauxhall has made future operations in the UK dependent on a good Brexit outcome.

Nissan is expected to signal its job loss programme when it announces its first quarter results on Thursday. The company has declined to comment on the reports at this stage.

The job loss reports come two months after Nissan forecast a 28% drop in operating profit, which would be the company’s lowest earnings in more than a decade.

The company is also embroiled in turmoil over its former chairman and chief executive Carlos Ghosn, who has been arrested and charged with a range of offences in Japan, as well as the future of its alliance with the French car maker Renault.