Honda of the UK Manufacturing – the automaker’s car and engine facility in Swindon – has denied offering early retirement, as reported earlier today by Reuters, but said it is offering an “associate release programme”.
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“We are not offering redundancies either voluntary or otherwise,” a spokesman told just-auto.
“In a voluntary redundancy programme, the company would be intending to dismiss associates [Honda’s term for its workers], meaning the job role would no longer exist. We’ve got no intention of dismissing associates. [This programme] is purely for associates who wish to leave HUM [by resigning].”
He added that the difference between this programme and a normal resignation was that “we are giving them a financial incentive to do so”.
He said Honda had considered a number of schemes including ‘early retirement’ but so few workers would have qualified under the usual minimum age terms applicable to such offers in the auto industry, HUM would have ended up offering numerous schemes so it was decided to offer a single “release programme” to all 4,800 workers.
He said there was no target and any resulting departures would only be voluntary.
Honda last month said it would temporarily close its UK factory, which currently makes CR-V SUVs for Europe and is the sole global source of the Civic hatchback line in February and March next year. It will become the third Jazz (Fit) source plant – joining factories in Japan and China – late next year.
Like BMW’s Mini plant in Oxford, the Honda UK plant operates a working time account system. If the factory shuts or reduces production, associates work fewer hours and owe the company time which they make up later, when production rises again, without being paid overtime.
A plant spokesman told the BBC earlier: “Despite the economic downturn, Honda remains committed to safeguard all associates’ jobs.”
Honda is also reported to be axing 760 temporary workers, or nearly 18% of its Japan temporary work force of 4,300, at four plants this month and next month in response to plunging export demand.
Honda employs over 27,000 permanent staff in Japan as well as the temps.
