Honda to close UK car plant in 2022, risking 3,500 jobs

spadoosh

AlanP wrote: »

Do you seriously believe that if they had been able to continue supplying the whole of the EU from the UK with 0% tariffs they would have closed Swindon and shipped cars from Japan anyway?

Possibly if there was a major investment required which could go to Swindon or ANO location they might have gone down that route but can't see any other reason.

As for negotiating Trade Deals - We were part of the EU when that deal was agreed weren't we? Based on the fact that you see that as a bad deal why do you think we will do any better when we are on our own and don't even have French corn to offer????

Yes i do believe that. How else do you justify their closure of the Turkey plant which has 0% tariffs applied to it when exporting to EU countries? Turkey is in a customs union with the EU which means they dont pay tariffs on cars, yet they are leaving there too, so whats the reason for that? (cost efficiencies of producing closer to home, they have a factories in japan that churn out many time more than eithe ruk or turkey. They need to spend money on updating their production. Its cheaper doing it in one place than three.)

I think the trade deal is brilliant, i really do. Im a proponent of free trade, free trade drives development and progress and im bored of not living in a world like star trek if im really honest.

The problem that the EU face is it comes across as hypocritical (my biggest issue, well its not that theyre hypocrites its the absolute refusal of entertaining the idea that they might be). So why is it hypocritical. They come out and said its about two power houses showing their commitment against protectionism. Yet the very premise of the EU is built on protectionism, its the very reason why the UK is not allowed as a member of the EU to sort out its own trade. Theyre against protectionism when it comes to negotiating a trade deal with japan, but its imperative they protect themselves when negotiating a 'future relationship' with the UK. Do you see the hypocrisy of it? Its jsut a bizarre direction from the EU, they have tariffs on their borders to pprotect their industry and then they come up with a trad agreemtn that will be at the expense of its motor industry and only slight beneficial the farming side of things. On the face of it, id say japan are the winners with that trade deal.

The celebrations are in reference to the euphoric squirms from the likes of Hamish and mayonaise heard across the country when the news broke that a company is closing as they view it as something they can use to try and undermine someones voting preference in a binary referendum.

mayonnaise

spadoosh wrote: »

The celebrations are in reference to the euphoric squirms from the likes of Hamish and mayonaise heard across the country when the news broke that a company is closing as they view it as something they can use to try and undermine someones voting preference in a binary referendum.

The likes of mayonnaise didn't choose to inflict economic carnage on this nation.
The likes of mayonnaise voted remain, remember?
It gives me no satisfaction to see British jobs lost, but I will take every opportunity to rub you and your ilk's nose into the mess you and your ilk have heaped upon to this country through your misguided vote steeped in ignorance and bigotry.

We need to learn lessons from this episode and lessons will be learnt, trust me.

spadoosh

mayonnaise wrote: »

The likes of mayonnaise didn't choose to inflict economic carnage on this nation.
The likes of mayonnaise voted remain, remember?
It gives me no satisfaction to see British jobs lost, but I will take every opportunity to rub you and your ilk's nose into the mess you and your ilk have heaped upon to this country through your misguided vote steeped in ignorance and bigotry.

We need to learn lessons from this episode and lessons will be learnt, trust me.

You think i made this mess?

Take some responsibility for yourself. If you where as bright as you think you are you should be able to sell the benefits of the EU easily, you make it sound so obvious. Yet here you are flummoxed as to how weve got here. Ignorance and bigotry indeed.

You had nigel farage and bojo on the other side and you still couldnt convince people. The only thing i can say to that is your deficiencies are beyond extreme.

fatbeetle

A furious row erupted today over whether Brexit was partly to blame for Honda’s shock decision to close its Swindon plant with the loss of 3,500 jobs.

The Japanese car giant confirmed this morning that it will shut the factory in 2021.

Business Secretary Greg Clark described the decision as “devastating” for the Wiltshire town and “deeply disappointing” given that the UK is a leader in electric vehicles which Honda stressed was the growing market.

Ian Howells, senior vice president for Honda in Europe, insisted that the closure was not linked to Britain quitting the EU but due to the shift towards electric cars and production levels.

“Brexit is not part of this decision,” he told Sky News.

A statement from the car manufacturer said the decision to close the site coincided with Honda’s plans to accelerate “its commitment to electrified cars, in response to the unprecedented changes in the global automotive industry”. “The significant challenges of electrification will see Honda revise its global manufacturing operations, and focus activity in regions where it expects to have high production volumes,” it said in a statement. Honda said the current role of its UK manufacturing business as a global manufacturing hub may no longer be viable. However, there was no mention of Brexit in Honda’s statement. Honda Europe’s senior vice president Ian Howells told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This is not a Brexit-related issue for us. “These other changes which are now coming at us globally we have to now respond to.”

Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/news/brexit/swindon-brexit-vote-honda-factory-closure-eu-referendum-result/

Also note that when the U.K.’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders issued its “devastation” warning last month, it cited diesel uncertainty and Chinese and EU economic slowdowns as factors alongside the Brexit fiasco.

The global picture matters hugely here. AutoCar’s James Attwood made a good point in a Monday op-ed when he wrote: “You can’t ignore global trade, such as Donald Trump’s threat to impose huge tariffs on cars imported from Europe into the U.S.–such as the Civic. At the same time, the European Union and Japan recently agreed a trade deal that effectively removes tariffs on Japanese-built cars imported into Europe. That reduces Honda’s need to have a European manufacturing base.”

The auto industry as a whole is in a period of massive upheaval, as the fossil-fuel era sputters slowly towards its replacement by electrification, as consumer tastes change, and as trade disputes threaten to complicate matters even more. So what’s happening to the British auto scene is not all Brexit’s fault.

Mayonnaise, don't like the stuff myself, it's rich, thick and slightly oily.

phillw

spadoosh wrote: »

You had nigel farage and bojo on the other side and you still couldnt convince people. The only thing i can say to that is your deficiencies are beyond extreme.

It's hard to convince the people when you're up against those who have a vested interest in deceiving the people.

Democracy isn't supposed to be that those who tell the most convincing lie get to do what they want.

Thrugelmir

movilogo wrote: »

Separate threads on same topic is difficult to follow. Mods please merge this with Brexit discussion.

I intentionally started a separate thread. Clouding every topic under Brexit is misleading. There's a lot going on in the wider world unrelated to Brexit. As much as many believe it does, or wish to suggest it does.

Thrugelmir

Bayer is closing a factory in Germany and relocating production to the US. Again nothing to do with Brexit. As a Germany company not going down well on home soil. Just another sign of consolidation in another market segment.

peterbaker

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Bayer is closing a factory in Germany and relocating production to the US. Again nothing to do with Brexit.

Germany isn't Britain, so you are correct that the Bayer decision to close Wuppertal has nothing to do with Brexit. However if they closed a substantial Bayer site in UK, would you think you could successfully argue the same? I don't.

We effectively now have worse than no Government in the UK. Brexit has swamped all HMG thinking and clouded most people's thinking of their futures in UK. There may be a lot going on in the wider world unrelated to Brexit, but everything in Britain is clouded by Brexit uncertainty and has been for far too long. Whether politicians are the same the world over or not, currently our 600 odd MPs have as a group carelessly revealed that they are just a totally overindulged, way overpaid talking shop, manipulated by hidden interests.

Parliament might just as well be abloshed. A bit like Belgium, UK has become irrelevant. The difference is that it seems we can't stop embarrassing ourselves in public.

We are adrift, rudderless and with no visible means of propulsion. HMG's reputation and UK's reputation is now totally at the mercy of the media.

Why would any global business choose UK to invest in further or afresh at the moment? One reason only - to exploit our weaknesses. Our strengths are without number but no-one knows what they are anymore or how to sell them so the number might as well be treated as zero.

J_Nostin

peterbaker wrote: »

Why would any global business choose UK to invest in further or afresh at the moment? One reason only - to exploit our weaknesses. Our strengths are without number but no-one knows what they are anymore or how to sell them so the number might as well be treated as zero.

I'm sorry but what a load of rubbish.

There has always been only one reason for people to invest anything, anywhere; to make money.

Brexit hasn't put off Dubai-based DP World from buying P&O for £322 million, announced just today. The Japanese brewer Asahi bought Fullers for £250 million just weeks ago. Were either of these influenced by Brexit? Not being an insider I can't say, but one thing is certain: these purchases were made despite Brexit so that money could be made.
P.S.
Believe it or not, British companies do the same and buy around the world too. Doesn't that mean that these companies are equally exploiting the weaknesses of those?

peterbaker

J_Nostin wrote: »

I'm sorry but what a load of rubbish.

There has always been only one reason for people to invest anything, anywhere; to make money.

Brexit hasn't put off Dubai-based DP World from buying P&O for £322 million, announced just today. The Japanese brewer Asahi bought Fullers for £250 million just weeks ago. Were either of these influenced by Brexit? Not being an insider I can't say, but one thing is certain: these purchases were made despite Brexit so that money could be made.
P.S.
Believe it or not, British companies do the same and buy around the world too. Doesn't that mean that these companies are equally exploiting the weaknesses of those?

Perhaps I have been too polite in not calling your posts rubbish? Brexit has devalued the pound 20% and it shows no sign of recovery. Don’tcha think that’s sharpened a few predators’ minds? Or maybe a fire sale suits your agenda? Or more likely you hadn’t considered matters in much depth?