TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nissan Motor will furlough around 800 workers at its production plant in Britain, as output slows there because of a semiconductor shortage, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

The people, who represent about a tenth of the workforce at the facility in Sunderland, will be asked to stay away until the chip shortage eases and production can increase, the Nikkei said, without saying where it got the information.

A Nissan spokeswoman was not able to immediately comment.

Carmakers around the world are struggling with a chip shortage caused by strong demand from makers of smartphones and other consumer electronics amid the COVID pandemic. A fire at a Japanese auto chip plant last month has further squeezed supplies.

Nissan plans to slash production at several factories in Japan next month, sources earlier told Reuters.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly)