Nissan México will lay off 1,000 workers in Aguascalientes and Morelos in response to a decline in sales.

“In response to the challenging market conditions in Mexico, Nissan is adjusting its production levels in its Morelos and Aguascalientes plants,” the Japanese automotive manufacturer said in a statement.

The dismissals will begin in January and affect assembly line workers.

The company did not specify how much it will reduce production, but the Mexican Automotive Industry Association said Nissan’s production was down 9% between January and November, during which time sales declined 14.3%.

The auto maker assembles its Kicks, March, Versa and Sentra models at the plants located in the cities of Aguascalientes and Cuernavaca.

Nisan has invested more than US $5 billion in the two plants over the last 13 years, and annual production has grown from 349,000 units to 829,000.

Source: El Universal (sp)