Honda to close Swindon car plant by 2021
- 5 years ago
Japanese carmaker Honda has confirmed it's closing its car plant the southern English town of Swindon by 2021 - a move likely to affect about three and a half thousand jobs.
For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… A huge blow to Britain's auto industry….
That's right Mark… Honda's Swindon plant is the firm's only car factory in the EU and builds around 160,000 Honda Civics per year.
About 90 percent of them are exported to the EU and the U.S.
The move will not only threaten three and a half thousand jobs at the plant, but also a similar number of workers in the supply chain.
Honda's CEO Takahiro Hachigo announced the move on Tuesday, saying it was due to global changes in the car industry, adding it had nothing to do with Brexit.
"This decision is aimed at optimising our global production bases and their ability and to accelerate our shift to the electrical vehicle. The timing of this announcement came as we decided on our production bases. So, this is not related to Brexit."
However, industry experts say Brexit must have been a factor in Honda's decision because the merit of having easy access to the lucrative European market would disappear after the UK leaves the EU.
The timing of the announcement also comes as the British government struggles to finalize a divorce deal.
For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… A huge blow to Britain's auto industry….
That's right Mark… Honda's Swindon plant is the firm's only car factory in the EU and builds around 160,000 Honda Civics per year.
About 90 percent of them are exported to the EU and the U.S.
The move will not only threaten three and a half thousand jobs at the plant, but also a similar number of workers in the supply chain.
Honda's CEO Takahiro Hachigo announced the move on Tuesday, saying it was due to global changes in the car industry, adding it had nothing to do with Brexit.
"This decision is aimed at optimising our global production bases and their ability and to accelerate our shift to the electrical vehicle. The timing of this announcement came as we decided on our production bases. So, this is not related to Brexit."
However, industry experts say Brexit must have been a factor in Honda's decision because the merit of having easy access to the lucrative European market would disappear after the UK leaves the EU.
The timing of the announcement also comes as the British government struggles to finalize a divorce deal.