Honda to scale back Swindon production

Japanese car manufacturer Honda is to scale back production at its Swindon plant.

It blamed falling sales in Europe for the decision.

The company said a third of the 3,500 employees at the South Marston site would work a four-day week from September.

A spokesman said staff would not lose out because they were employed on flexible contracts that guaranteed they would be paid for a 37-hour week.

He said that the production of the new CR-V from September, and a new 1.6-litre diesel engine by the end of the year, meant that Honda was still forecasting a production volume in the UK of almost double the 2011 figure.

Jim D'Avila, regional officer for the Unite union, said: "The recession is biting deep and big successful companies like Honda are struggling to maintain a sensible level of production to retain everyone's employment.

"Something governmental has to happen otherwise people's jobs are going to be at risk long-term."