Not only will the loss of Honda in Swindon be awful for the 3,000 employees, but it will also have an impact on the local economy since 1,800 employment at two nearby suppliers would be lost. Staff members have been discussing how they are feeling as 35 years of manufacturing history come to an end.
The news that Honda would be closing the Swindon facility in February 2019 came as “a major shock” to employees like Michael Poole.
He had been an apprentice for a year when his team leader broke the news to him at a training session.
It really knocked us for six because I felt like I’d gotten my foot on a ladder of a career I was genuinely interested in.
People that you wouldn’t expect to cry shed tears. We were simply allowed to swing in the wind.
The last day of car production as well as the last day of most employee contracts was slated for Friday, July 30, 2021.
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In Swindon, will Honda be closing?
Driven out from the Swindon facility are some of the final Hondas made in Wiltshire. After 36 years of operation, the Honda facility in Swindon will today shut its doors for the last time.
When does Honda Swindon shut down?
After 36 years, Honda Swindon will stop making cars on Friday, July 30, when workers finish their final shifts there.
The closing of the facility, which has had a significant impact on both the town’s recent history and the UK auto industry, will have a significant social impact.
There were many uncertainties around the effects of Brexit at the time of the announcement in 2019, which was devastating for British business. However, it was made clear that production would go on until the models’ current production cycle came to a close.
200 of the 3,500 people employed at the plant will remain once it closes because it is being decommissioned, but Swindon council has made a lot of effort to find skilled laborers other positions in the town.
Additionally, it is anticipated that the direct supply chain will have an impact on more than 10,000 people.
When the news initially broke, Katsushi Inoue, president of Honda Motor Europe and chief operating officer for Honda’s regional operations in Europe, made a statement.
“We must accelerate our electrification strategy and restructure our global operations in light of the enormous developments that are impacting our industry,” he said.
Because of this, we were forced to make the tough choice to talk to our employees about how we can set up our production network for the future.
We really regret how upsetting today’s statement will be for our folks because this has not been taken lightly.
The factory, which Honda first bought in 1985, was used to make engines, with production starting in 1989.
The Accord was the first vehicle manufactured at the factory in 1992.
The Civic began manufacture there in 1994, and starting in 2001, the popular Type R version was also produced there.
In 2000, the CR-V was added to the lineup made at the facility. The SUV was later produced in 1.2 million units before it was discontinued in 2018.
The Jazz was the following Honda model to be produced at the Swindon plant, and two million have been produced there since.
But with five generations and international exports, the Civic has been produced at the factory the longest.
The plant was once able to create 250,000 vehicles annually, but it can now only produce 160,000 automobiles annually.
Honda declared in 2019 that the facility will be shutting down, and despite objections from the community, the Japanese headquarters would not budge.
Honda held the property where the facility stood and sold it to logistics firm Panattoni earlier this year for a reported 700 million dollars.
Why is the Honda facility in Swindon closing?
However, despite the addition of the tiny Jazz model to Swindon’s lineup of models for manufacturing, things for Honda in the UK were beginning to look a little precarious by 2009. The quick transition to electrified automobiles (including pure-electric, plug-in hybrid, full hybrid, and mild hybrid) meant the factory would need to be updated to remain competitive in the wake of the industry’s devastation caused by the global recession.
Although Swindon was designated as the Civic’s worldwide production centre in 2015, Honda has decided to stop vehicle production at its Swindon factory by 2019. The “extraordinary developments in the global automotive business” were noted in the official statement.
Is Honda leaving the United Kingdom?
As part of a significant restructuring of its global operations and the necessity to concentrate on the production of electric vehicles, the firm first announced its plan to leave the town (and the UK) in 2019.
In Swindon, what is taking Honda’s place?
Today, Honda revealed that it had signed a contract to sell its Swindon facility. The facility, which the Japanese automaker initially bought in 1985, has been sold to Panattoni, the biggest builder of new industrial and logistical facilities in Europe.
At the end of the current Civic Hatchback model cycle in July 2021, Honda Motor announced in 2019 that production would halt at the UK factory as part of a restructuring of its global vehicle manufacturing activities. Honda promised to leave the site in a responsible manner with a lasting legacy for Swindon after the closure announcement.
Director at Honda of the UK Manufacturing, Jason Smith, said: “We are glad to have found a trustworthy new owner for the property. We are convinced that the new owner can move the development forward in a commercially timely manner and create exciting opportunities for Swindon and the larger community based on our interactions with Panattoni and our early discussions with Swindon Borough Council.
Honda will begin dismantling the Swindon facility as soon as production ends on July 30, 2021. The site is expected to be formally transferred in the spring of 2022, and Panattoni will begin regeneration and reconstruction as soon as the required approvals have been secured.
Panattoni’s development director, James Watson, stated: “In order to support existing firms wishing to grow in Swindon and draw new employers to the area, Panattoni has committed to investing over 700 million into the site. To revitalize the property, we will collaborate closely with Honda, Swindon Borough Council, the locals, and their representatives.
Panattoni’s managing director for the UK, Matthew Byrom, stated: “Our capacity to operate at scale is demonstrated by the acquisition of the 370-acre Honda site. Thousands of additional job possibilities in positions supporting the operation of the local and regional economies will result from the redevelopment of this vital employment site.
Swindon Borough Council Chief Executive Susie Kemp said: “Following Honda’s departure, Swindon will take a big step forward in its revitalization with the fresh opportunities described by Panattoni. The local economy will benefit greatly from their investment, and we are thrilled that this renovation will bring thousands of jobs to Swindon and the surrounding area. As a result of Panattoni’s recent development of the nearby Symmetry Park site, we already have a good working relationship with them and are forward to collaborate with them over the coming year. I think that today’s statement proves that Honda’s main objective was to find a trustworthy new owner.
Honda will examine alternatives for the use of tiny portions of the site’s edge that are not needed for Panattoni’s development by the neighboring communities as part of its ongoing efforts to leave a constructive legacy in the neighborhood.
With assistance from Honda, Panattoni will now start all necessary planning work with Swindon Borough Council.
Who will replace Honda in Swindon?
Vehicle manufacturing plant sold to logistics firm with 700 million investment pledge. Honda has sold its Swindon facility to logistics firm Panattoni, which has pledged to invest over 700 million in the location.
Honda is closing, why?
The 370-acre Swindon property that the Japanese company is closing down will be taken over by Panattoni in July.
Honda claimed that the 2019 closure was brought on by the necessity to introduce electric vehicles and developments in the global automotive sector.
The logistics company has promised to invest 700 million to renovate the Wiltshire property before turning it over to the government in the spring of 2022.
What caused Honda to shut down?
Honda said that the industry’s shift to electric vehicles was the primary cause for the plant’s closure, however many have noted other potential influences.
Brexit
Despite the company’s insistence that Brexit had no bearing on its choice, a number of well-known people refuse to acknowledge that it hadn’t at least had any.
The government’s handling of Brexit, according to Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, “is letting people down across the country,” he added. “Honda’s decision to close its manufacturing is a massive blow to the thousands of workers and the entire community.”
After a tweet from North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson from January that stated Honda will “stay committed to Swindon” and that it supported UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit arrangement surfaced, a lot of social media users also voiced confusion.
Although Honda did not specifically cite Brexit as the cause of the closure, Des Quinn, a spokesperson for Unite the Union, said the organization thought “the uncertainty that the Tory government has generated by its inept and dogmatic management of the Brexit negotiations looms in the background.”
“We may be in a very different position today if the government had delivered a strong and stable Brexit that protected the economy and jobs.”
EU-Japan trade deal
Some have speculated that Honda’s decision may also have been affected by a historic trade agreement that became effective between Japan and the European Union at the beginning of the month.
The agreement, which launched the largest free-trade agreement in history, “essentially removes taxes on Japanese-built cars imported into Europe,” according to James Attwood, deputy editor of Autocar.
Currently, where are Honda automobiles made?
Although some Honda vehicles are still produced in Japan, the majority are constructed in Mexico and the United States. Honda car production facilities in the US, Japan, and Mexico all produce vehicles for the North American market.
What is the cause of Honda’s UK closure?
The shift in demand for electric vehicles has become the impetus for the end of Honda’s production in the UK, which will be replaced with a new logistics facility, developments in the local and international automotive sector.
Who purchased Honda?
The straightforward answer to the question “Who owns Honda?” is Honda itself. Honda began making motorcycles in 1949, followed by vehicles in 1963. At Walla Walla Valley Honda, learn more about the distinctive Honda brand, including their location, the location of their vehicle assembly plant, and other information.
What’s going on at the Honda plant in Swindon?
A rendering of an apartment at the brand-new Panattoni development in South Marston.
The ‘world-class’ 700 million makeover of Panattoni’s former Honda property in South Marston has hundreds of pages worth of planning documentation.
This gives us a first glimpse at the new facility’s design and layout, as well as information about how it will be connected to the neighboring busy main roadways and how the developer of the logistics center plans to mitigate any unfavorable environmental effects that may result from its construction.
As with the Symmetry Park development, it is envisaged that the cutting-edge buildings will establish a new, high standard for industrial, storage, and distribution facilities.
A big park with a lagoon will be included at the site’s southern end, and ten apartments will be developed all around the 145-hectare area. In order to make the facilities as environmentally friendly as possible, the project team is aiming for a BREEAM Excellent Rating.
A representative for Panattoni wrote: “The Honda Manufacturing Plant’s reconstruction offers the chance to turn the location into a premier logistics and manufacturing hub.
“The applicants are dedicated to creating a best-in-class business community and employment park at Panattoni Park Swindon, setting new benchmarks for commercial development with high quality sustainable buildings, supporting facilities, and infrastructure, all set within a thorough masterplanned landscape that enhances biodiversity and is reachable for staff, visitors, and the local community by sustainable modes of transportation.
“[The site] is one of the most significant employment prospects in the UK and has the potential to draw large and medium-sized enterprises in key growth industries to Swindon.”
Only Honda’s current southern and northern roundabouts and the A361 to the west will provide access for vehicles and HGVs to and from the site. There will be a closure of the current direct link between Keypoint and the A420 for vehicles and HGVs.
Each construction plot will include room for employee conveniences including lounging areas and enhanced landscaping in addition to provisions for well-being facilities.
The 145-hectare site will be developed for light industrial, storage, distribution, and general industrial and manufacturing uses, and a new public park will be built with bike and pedestrian paths that connect existing routes. The application also asks for permission to build a logistics and manufacturing center.
On the council’s planning portal at https://pa1.swindon.gov.uk/publicaccess/, look for reference S/OUT/22/0284 to view the plans and any comments that have been submitted regarding them.