- David Hort
New Honda Civic creates 500 new jobs
Production of the new Honda Civic started yesterday at Honda UK’s Swindon plant, with 500 new jobs also announced to deal with the increased workload.
Over the past three years, with the recession, tsunami in Japan and subsequent flooding in Thailand, Honda’s production volumes have taken a battering in the UK.
With the introduction of the new Civic to the production line at Swindon, Honda UK hopes to double output to 180,000 units in 2012 but, despite optimism and seasonal cheer surrounding the decision, the plant is still way behind the volumes it churned out prior to the recession in 2008.
Three years ago, Swindon built around 240,000 cars a year, alongside its engine production facility, and it employed around 5,000 staff to do so.
Even with the increase in production and a 500 rise in staff, the Wiltshire plant is still lagging behind pre-recession levels and faced with a recruitment ‘challenge’ despite record unemployment levels in the UK, according to an interview with HeadlineAuto.co.uk.
Following the tsunami and flooding in Thailand, Honda UK was forced to abandon its traditional two-shift production process forcing the manufacturer to make staff and manufacturing cuts.
With the new Civic being built at Swindon and supply lines slowly being restored, the plant will slowly ramp up production and return to a two-shift pattern by Spring 2012 when the 500 new staff will start work.
The new Civic will join the production line alongside the Jazz supermini. In 2012 that line-up will be bolstered again with the arrival of the new European CR-V SUV which will be built in Wiltshire, along with a new diesel engine.
The increase in production outlay spells good news for the UK economy too, with 60 per cent of its output exported to foreign markets, forcing Prime Minister, David Cameron, to acknowledge the manufacturer’s importance to the UK automotive industry and the economy as a whole.
“Honda is contributing to a real renaissance in the UK automotive industry, we have a highly skilled workforce and we continue to be at the forefront of new technology and development. Its success is of great importance to our economy and we are committed to do all that we can to see this vital industry grow and thrive," said Cameron.