Engineering news
Honda is to cut production at its factory in Swindon from three shifts to two, threatening 340 jobs.
Production at the plant, which employs about 3,000 workers, will be consolidated on to one line to "improve production flexibility and efficiency".
Ian Howells, senior vice-president of Honda Motor Europe, said: "Over the last 12 months, we haven't seen the growth we'd anticipated. With no increase forecast for the next couple of years, we must scale our manufacturing activity accordingly.
“However, with the restructuring we're taking today, and our new model plans, we remain confident in the long-term future of our Swindon plant. It continues to be the hub for our European car manufacturing activity," he added.
Trade union Unite claimed the move will see 360 permanent and 160 agency jobs cut. It said that the wider industry job losses could be four times this figure as jobs go in the associated component and retail sectors.
The union is calling for urgent talks with the company and for the government to step in to ensure that the skills of the workforce are not lost to the industry.
Tony Murphy, Unite national officer for car manufacturing, said: “There is no getting away from it, these job losses are a devastating blow, not just for these workers but for the thousands more across the industry whose work is dependent on the Honda plant.
"Today's losses are also a wake-up call to the UK government. The economy is far too fragile to proclaim a recovery - those workers losing their jobs today will find claims that the country is turning a corner an insult. The truth is that there is simply no pick up in the incomes of Honda's customers, either here or in the eurozone. People are not confident and do not have the cash to spend. That is something which must give the government serious cause for concern.”
Honda has been manufacturing cars at Swindon since 1992 and currently builds the Civic, Civic Tourer, CR-V and Jazz models for the UK and European markets.
Honda cut 800 jobs at the site at the beginning of 2013 after it said demand for its vehicles had fallen by a million in 2012, the first time the company had ever made compulsory redundancies in the UK.