As Honda accelerates its commitment towards electrified cars, job security with the company in the U.K. is not looking promising. Honda recently announced that it intends to shut down its factory in Swindon in 2021, putting a total of 7000 jobs at risk. This figure includes 3500 direct employees as well as additional workers who “provide parts supply, logistics, and support to the Swindon factory,” the company said in a statement.
Brexit looms large for the company as the March deadline approaches. “I have listened to several Honda senior executives [at a recent industry event] saying that membership of the [EU] customs union was needed for them to operate in the UK … This should not come as a surprise to anyone who took the industry warnings seriously,” said PVMI member Matthias Holweg. With significant challenges of electrification and Japan’s recent free trade deal with the European Union, Honda expects to continue producing in Japan, “revise its global manufacturing operations, and focus activity in regions where it expects to have high production volumes.”
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