Honda to Add 700 Jobs at U.K. Plant

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. will add 700 jobs at its Swindon, U.K., plant as it prepares to utilize the plant’s 250,000 capacity next spring by adding an extra shift.

The Swindon facility currently employs 4,900 and produces 190,000 units annually.

Honda President Takeo Fukui says the extra capacity will be needed to satisfy European demand for Honda’s Civic compact car and CR-V small cross/utility vehicle.

“Today’s announcement is a fantastic endorsement of what trade unions working effectively with employers can achieve,” says Jim D’Avila, the Amicus trade union’s regional officer for Honda, in a statement. “Amicus has established a good working relationship with the company and has high union membership at the plant.”

Honda’s European arm sold more Civic models in the first eight months of this year than in all of 2005, reports say.

The auto maker recently announced it would add production of the Civic Type R variant to Swindon.