THE Unite union yesterday called Honda’s decision to cut 800 jobs at its Swindon plant a ‘hammer blow’ to UK manufacturing and the local economy.
Unite warned: ‘In reality, Honda will cut over 1,100 jobs, as the company recently announced 325 job cuts to temporary workers at the Swindon site.’
Unite has vowed to oppose any compulsory redundancies and has demanded that Honda negotiates with the union to minimise the impact of the cuts and to save jobs at the site.
The union was attending meetings with the company yesterday and was briefed on the job losses only on Thursday.
The company said it was cutting 420 managers and supervisors, and 360 production workers, but the announcement comes on top of cuts to 325 agency worker jobs.
Unite national officer Tony Murphy said: ‘This is a hammer blow to UK manufacturing and to Swindon where Honda is a major employer.
‘The reality is that over 1,000 jobs are going at Honda – it’s a disaster for manufacturing in the UK and for the local economy.
‘It’s a tragedy for our members and their families.
‘There’s no doubt these cuts will have a significant knock-on impact on the supply chain, and on local shops and services.
‘That is why we intend to save as many jobs as possible.
‘Unite will oppose any compulsory job losses. We expect Honda to negotiate meaningfully with the union in order to mitigate the impact of these cuts.
‘Unite will be meeting with our local union reps in the coming days to discuss the company’s proposals.’
All Trades Unions Alliance National Secretary Dave Wiltshire said: ‘The trade unions must fight for every job at Honda, not just engage in a damage limitation exercise.
‘They must take strike action to demand work sharing without any loss of pay and the nationalisation of the auto maker.
‘This is the way to secure a future for Honda workers and their families.’
Honda Europe vice-president Ken Keir said that the company took on 1,200 just a few months ago to build new cars but demand had fallen.