Report: Honda to announce UK plant closure ahead of Brexit
The Swindon plant is Honda's only in the EU.
Honda could announce as soon as tomorrow plans to shutter its UK plant in Swindon, a new report finds. The move is believed to be at least partially spurred by the UK's break from the European Union.
According to Sky News, Honda might make the news official as soon as Tuesday morning. The plant closure would directly impact 3,500 jobs, along with countless others on the supplier side.
Timing for the Swindon shutdown remains unknown at this time. An inside source previously told Sky News that the Swindon plant, which produces the Honda Civic, would close by 2022. However, Honda might have accelerated those plans because the UK has failed to secure a post-Brexit trade pact with the EU.
Swindon is Honda's only car plant in the EU. The UK is also home to Honda's European headquarters and its Formula One racing team, but those operations are expected to continue on unaffected.
Honda is expected to increase production in its home country of Japan to compensate for the Swindon closure. Honda has been guaranteed tariff-free exports from Japan to the EU.
Honda isn't the only automaker reevaluating its UK operations ahead of Brexit. Nissan, Ford and Jaguar Land Rover have all announced plans alter their UK operations in the coming weeks and months.