Honda employees return to work at Swindon

Thousands of workers at Honda’s Swindon factory have returned to work after production was halted for four months in response to the struggling car market. All 3,400 of the returning workers will be taking a pay cut until 2010 but are pleased that their jobs are finally guaranteed after the uncertainty of the last four months.

The factory was forced to close while the company decided on the best way of dealing with the problems caused by the global recession and the effect the economic downturn has had on the number of car sales and contract hire agreements. The car industry has been one of the worst affected and almost all car manufacturers are having difficulty staying afloat, but the situation at Honda and how they have recovered could stand as an example to other companies who are still struggling. Tamporarily suspending production at the Swindon plant has given them opportunity to discuss and make decisions about the company’s future as well as perform long-planned maintenance work. During the four months downtime the production lines were stripped down and rebuilt, and they took the opportunity to redecorate the whole plant, where possible by employees who had the specialist skills required for the job. 

But it’s not all good news. 1,300 workers from the Swindon factory chose to opt for voluntary redundancy at the time of the closure, many of whom still have not managed to secure alternative employment. And though the workers now have peace of mind that their jobs are safe, their pay has been cut by 3%, or 5% in management roles, for the duration of the next 10 months. The plant is only running at 50% of its normal capacity, with a predicted total production of 113,000 vehicles in 2009, less than half of the original 228,000 estimate.

In short, it’s a small victory but the company is not out of the woods yet, Honda car leasing and sales figures will have to increase significantly over the next few months if they want to avoid any further disasters. The new Honda Jazz model, due to start production at Swindon in September, should increase sales and give a clearer picture of the long-term future of the Swindon factory. Not to mention as the economy begins to recover buyers will be taking advantage of low car prices as across the board from Honda to Mercedes, car leasing and purchase prices are cheaper than ever.

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