Confirmed: Honda to close UK factory in 2021

It’s official - Honda has confirmed that its Swindon factory is to close. The plant, which employs 3,500 people, will shutdown when the current Civic goes out of production in 2021.

Honda first announced plans to close the factory, which produces 150,000 Civics annually (far less than its 250,000-car capacity), in February. It says that after a “meaningful and robust consultation process” involving the UK government and unions, it has concluded that there are “no viable alternatives” to the closure of the plant.

The company says the decision to close the factory comes “in response to changes to the automotive industry”. A statement said “Honda is accelerating its electrification plans, and as a result resources, capabilities and production systems for electrified vehicles will be focused in regions with a high volume of customer demand.”

All affected staff were notified of Honda’s decision yesterday morning. The company will now start a process that involves “agreeing associate redundancy packages and identifying the impact on individual roles”. It will also work with a government task force to “to mitigate the impact of this decision on the wider community”.

Read our assessment of the reasons behind Honda’s decision here