Honda shuts down factory

Honda shuts down Swindon plant for 4 months

Workers at Honda's Swindon factory made the last cars on Friday before a four-month shutdown caused by a sharp fall in worldwide sales. Honda shuts down Swindon plant for 4 months.

Production at the Japanese giant's plant will be halted until June 1, with 4,200 workers receiving full pay for the first two months, reduced to 60 percent for the rest of the shutdown.

Honda has insisted it intends to maintain its Swindon workforce until the Jazz model is due to go into production there later this year.

The shutdown came on a grim day of news for Honda as Japan's second-largest carmaker said its net profit plunged 89 percent in the fiscal third quarter and it slashed its annual earnings forecast by more than half.

It made a net profit of 20.24 billion yen (157 million pounds) for the three months to December, down from 200 billion yen a year earlier.

Japanese car firms have been slashing production and laying off workers to cope with the global economic crisis, which has seen demand for vehicles collapse as potential buyers find finance drying up amid the credit crunch.

In Britain, Nissan has cut 1,200 jobs from its 5,000-strong workforce at its plant in Sunderland in northeast England.