Carmaker one of many firms to scale back production
21 November 2008
Carmaker Honda is to shut its Swindon plant for 50 days as part of a dramatic cutback in vehicle production.
The shutdown, to take place in February and March next year, will reduce the plant’s annual output by 21,000 cars as the company readjusts to falling demand caused by the economic downturn. It mirrors similar reductions in production at Honda’s base in Japan.
The announcement adds to the miserable winter for employees in manufacturing, and the car industry in particular. Increasing numbers of firms are planning to shut down over the Christmas period as a short-term measure to save jobs.
Ford is to close its Southampton plant for a month and Vauxhall will shut down its factories in Merseyside and Luton for more than two weeks. BMW will also halt production at its Oxford base for an extended holiday period.
Tyre maker Michelin will close its factory in Stoke-on-Trent at Christmas and New Year for the first time because it is accumulating too much stock.
Luxury carmaker Bentley will close its operations in Crewe for a month, while yacht and boat makers across the country are reported to be taking similar measures as demand for high-end goods dries up.
Steel giant Corus, which has announced a 30 per cent cut in production in Europe, is also set to shut down its operations temporarily at Port Talbot and Scunthorpe.
Negotiations with unions are taking place about payment of staff during the shutdowns. Some firms are seeking deals whereby staff will be paid at a later date when market conditions improve while other workers will be given reduced rates of pay during the leave.
Many firms are also asking employees to work reduced hours, three-day weeks or merged shifts to avoid compulsory redundancies in the run-up to Christmas. Last month workers for JCB, the construction machinery manufacturer, opted to work a four-day week with a pay cut to save thousands of jobs.