Unite, the United Kingdom and Ireland's largest union, said on Monday that Japanese Honda auto giant's decision to press ahead with the closure of Swindon, its only factory in the United Kingdom, by 2021 was a "betrayal."
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th May, 2019) Unite, the United Kingdom and Ireland's largest union, said on Monday that Japanese Honda auto giant's decision to press ahead with the closure of Swindon, its only factory in the United Kingdom, by 2021 was a "betrayal."After months of uncertainty following Honda's initial announcement in February that it was considering closing the factory, on Monday, the Japanese automaker told its employees that the manufacturing plant will stop production when the current car model comes to the end of its production cycle, saying that it did not find any alternatives to the closure.
"[Keeping Swindon open] would have made Honda a global leader in emerging battery technology and in a strong position to exploit the growing global market for electric vehicles in the coming years. Instead we have this body blow which is nothing short of a betrayal of the workforce, customers and the wider supply chain which relies on Honda Swindon for work," Unite national officer, Des Quinn, said.
The closure will impact some 3,500 employees working at the plant.
After Honda first announced its plans to close the plant in February, Unite worked marched through Swindon in an attempt to save their job by convincing the automaker that the closure would devastate the community and affect thousands of jobs in the supply chain which rely on the factory. The factory produces about 150,000 vehicles per year.
