Honda has announced plans to close its factory in Swindon in 2021.
In a heavily anticipated announcement, the firm says it has told employees of its proposal to close the facility, which currently produces 150,000 cars a year and employs around 3,500 people.
According to Honda, the move is in response to the challenges presented by electrified cars, which will see it revise its global manufacturing operations and focus activity in regions where it expects to have high production volumes.
It says consultation activity with potentially affected employees will start today.
Honda’s chief officer for European regional operations Katsushi Inoue said: “In light of the unprecedented changes that are affecting our industry, it is vital that we accelerate our electrification strategy and restructure our global operations accordingly.
“As a result, we have had to take this difficult decision to consult our workforce on how we might prepare our manufacturing network for the future.
“This has not been taken lightly and we deeply regret how unsettling today’s announcement will be for our people.”
