Workers protest closure of Nissan plants in Spain

Disgruntled Nissan workers marched Tuesday in Barcelona in their latest protest against the Japanese company's decision to shut its manufacturing plants in northeastern Spain. Nissan is suffering like many other automakers from a sharp drop in demand for vehicles amid the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The closures will bring some 3,000 job losses, which unions say will impact some 20,000 families in the Catalonia region.

Several thousand demonstrators wearing masks gathered for the protest on Tuesday evening.

Spain's government has criticised the company's decision, the Catalan regional government says it is seeking options to keep the plants open, and local Catholic church leaders have added their voice to pleas for a future to be found for those poised to lose their job.

But the Japanese giant's head of European operations, Gianluca de Ficchy, said in an interview with El Pais that the closure was unavoidable as it redraws its global business strategy.