Car manufacturer Honda today announced it plans to scale down its work force in the UK. We answer five questions on the latest job losses at the car giant.
How many jobs will be lost at Honda?
Honda is planning on axing 800 members of its staff at its Swindon plant. This is the first time Honda has cut jobs in the UK since 1992.
A 90 day consultation period on the job cuts has now begun.
Why is Honda axing these jobs?
Japanese Honda is blaming weak demand in Europe, saying that demand for cars in the has region dropped by one million in the past year.
At the Swindon plant they built 166,000 cars in 2012, well below the capacity of 250,000. About 40 per cent of the cars produced in Swindon are sold in the UK.
The job losses shock comes after Honda announced a £267m investment in the UK in September last year.
What has Honda said?
In a press release Ken Keir, Executive Vice President, Honda Motor Europe, said:
“Honda remains fully committed for the long-term to its UK and European manufacturing operations. However, these conditions of sustained low industry demand require us to take difficult decisions.
“We are setting the business constitution at the right level to ensure long term stability and security”
What are others saying?
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief executive Paul Everitt told the BBC:
“Despite challenges brought by weak European demand, the longer-term prospects for the UK automotive sector remain good.”
Adding: “We hope that those affected will be able to take advantage of the opportunities we know exist throughout the UK sector and its supply chain.”
What’s the general picture for the motor industry in the UK and Europe?
Figures from the SMMT earlier in the week showed that UK new car registrations had actually increased by 5.3 per cent in 2012 to 2,044 cars – the highest number since 2008.
SMMT figures also revealed that 54,208 Hondas were registered in the UK last year, up 7.2 per cent from 2011.
However, latest figures on car registration from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) revealed that in the first 11 months of 2012, 131,346 Hondas were registered in Europe – down 6.2 per cent from the same period last year.
Peugeot also said its global sales have fallen sharply.
Further painting a bleak picture for the European motor industry is other ACEA statistics that reveal car registrations in Greece were down 41 per cent in the first 11 months of 2012. Portugal was also down by 37 per cent and Italy down by 20 per cent.
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