Honda scales back production at Swindon plant

Production at Honda in Swindon is being scaled back with staff now working single shifts after the loss of 800 jobs was announced in January.

The move from double to single day shifts is taking place at Car Plant Two on the site at South Marston.

A voluntary redundancy programme opened on 18 February and Honda said there had been a "positive response".

The firm, which started making cars in Swindon in 1992, blamed falling sales across Europe for the drop in demand.

About 3,500 people are employed at the Swindon plant and the current redundancy programme applies to 360 "direct associates" - those employed in manufacturing.

A Honda spokesman said there had been a "steady stream of associates expressing an interest in voluntary redundancy".

He said the next phase would look at the 420 office-based staff.

He said the 90-day consultation period, which began in January, was ongoing and the company was working with the Unite union on the job cuts.

He said Honda was still hoping to avoid compulsory redundancies.

The 250 agency staff who were employed in spring 2012 to help produce the CR-V model will also leave in March. These workers are not part of the 800 jobs to be cut.

The company's spokesman said "it was always part of the plan that these agency jobs would have come to an end in February and March 2013."