Employees at Honda’s Swindon plant have been told they are facing a one-year pay cut in a bid to avoid compulsory redundancies.
Staff are already in a four-month shutdown to save costs, but yesterday received a letter from the director of planning and business administration, David Hodgetts, warning them that further action was needed to save jobs.
The letter said a one-year pay cut was “likely” for all staff, although there were no details about how much this would be for UK staff. In Japan, Honda has already cut pay by 10% for production workers and 15% for managers.
Jim D’Avila, regional officer for Unite, said no decision on the pay cut had yet been made. “We expect Honda to ensure none of our members’ benefits are eroded in the long-term and that these skilled workers will remain in place and at work ready for when the upturn comes,” he said.
Honda announced in January that it was curbing production between February and May.
