The Robins Nest Forum

Closing the Swindon factory.

I know from previous work that quite a few employees there live in a GL postcode so would like to express sympathy with any CTFC fans who work there and face redundancy.

https://news.sky.com/story/honda-to-stu ... y-11641154" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Living where I do, I know many people who work for Honda and will be directly impacted if this turns out to be true. I don't know how many will be indirectly affected. Potentially, this could devastate the local economy.

Yet another fallout from this Brexit farce.

Were it not for Brexit, I'm convinced that plant would be staying open.

It doesn't surprise me in the least. If sales aren't going well, a company will either contract back to where it started, move its operation to a cheaper industrial base or where it costs the least to reduce over capacity.

It is a major flaw in Government policy of all colours over the years in allowing UK plc to become just satelite operations for overseas based multi-nationals.

I doubt sales is the issue here....more likely the lack of clarity over post-Brexit UK.

With less than 6 weeks until we are supposed to leave the EU, we still don't have an agreement on what will happen after 29th March. Businesses have been saying for the past few years that they want clarity so they can plan accordingly. And here we are with less than 6 weeks to go, still none the wiser as they were a few years ago when this process started.

So you can hardly blame businesses for making these choices (not that anyone here in this thread is at this point), backed into the corner that they are.

To be fair, there is now a free trade agreement between Japan and the EU. The cars no longer need to be made anywhere in Europe - but certainly not in the UK who will not benefit from that agreement.

But it's okay: we have agreed a deal to ensure a supply of cuckoo clocks and toblerone.

Is the plant at Swindon running at full capacity? I suspect not. There are similar problems at Nissan, JLR, Ford, GM. There are additional market forces that are causing the problem, not just Brexit.

I run a small UK business that imports from and exports to Europe. We also import from and export to the Rest of the World. We understand WTO rules so if there is a no-deal Brexit, we know what to do. It is not that difficult. There was a time when we weren't in the EU and we managed. There is too much scare mongering going on so-called experts who know little or nothing about the subject.

e.g. Chaos predicted at Dover. The port authorities there only need to look at how it is done at Felixstowe and copy how they do it. It is not rocket science.

Red Duke wrote:Is the plant at Swindon running at full capacity? I suspect not. There are similar problems at Nissan, JLR, Ford, GM. There are additional market forces that are causing the problem, not just Brexit.

I run a small UK business that imports from and exports to Europe. We also import from and export to the Rest of the World. We understand WTO rules so if there is a no-deal Brexit, we know what to do. It is not that difficult. There was a time when we weren't in the EU and we managed. There is too much scare mongering going on so-called experts who know little or nothing about the subject.

e.g. Chaos predicted at Dover. The port authorities there only need to look at how it is done at Felixstowe and copy how they do it. It is not rocket science.

Incorrect re: Nissan. It is running at absolute max capacity. The X-Trail decision was purely based on demand for diesel plummeting and Japan already produces petrol versions with capacity to build them. Sunderland would have required investment in new capacity - not worth it in a declining sector.

Nissan also showing the benefit of moving beyond being a branch-plant satellite of a global company. Sunderland is still leading the race to be the global centre of Nissan’s EV battery research, innovation and manufacturing and not faffing on with the X-Trail frees up more capacity for that.

The Sunderland plant is operating at such capacity that the plans for the International Advanced Manufacturing Plant are still charging forward to provide new space for Nissan and the supply chain which is increasingly being reshored to the U.K.

So whilst scaremongers said the X-Trail news was a Brexit disaster, the situation is still positive behind the scenes in the North East when it comes to future investment in higher value added activity by Nissan. Although given suppliers will now be losing Honda contracts that will dampen spirits in the short-term.

I don't think it's the understanding of the WTO rules that these businesses are trying to avoid, more so the tariffs.

Which is why they have been asking HMG for the past few years to outline their position, so they can make the necessary arrangements to protect their business and shareholders.

If they had known from the start that WTO rules were to apply post-Brexit, I'm sure a lot of them would have moved operations sooner.

However, I think most of them have stuck around hoping for a Brexit deal, but with now only less than 6 weeks to go and still no clarity, push has come to shove and decisions have needed to be made.

All this bad news being blamed on brexit, the local MP for Swindon said it wasn’t because of Brexit, but no everyone wants to make Brexit the scapegoat.

ctfc-fan wrote:All this bad news being blamed on brexit, the local MP for Swindon said it wasn’t because of Brexit, but no everyone wants to make Brexit the scapegoat.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment and agree it is a combination of factors, “an MP said” is probably the least reliable defence possible!

ctfc-fan wrote:All this bad news being blamed on brexit, the local MP for Swindon said it wasn’t because of Brexit, but no everyone wants to make Brexit the scapegoat.

You mean "the local MP, a staunch leave supporter"?

But then we have JLR who have failed to notice the reducing demand for diesel vehicles and the Chinese market and who have found themselves in the mire. It was twisted to suggest Brexit was the issue when it clearly wasn’t.

Johnsons Red Army wrote:Yet another fallout from this Brexit farce.

Were it not for Brexit, I'm convinced that plant would be staying open.

Utter rubbish! Why are you so certain. Spent 12 very happy years installing software in that plant and in the new line when it started up.
That new line has been closed now for a long time. Output is dropping.
The main factor has to be seen as the new EU trade deal with Japan. There is now no need for them to have a production Base in mainland Europe, let alone the UK. With the number of Hondas sold in Europe, it's now that's to the trade deal, cheaper to build them overseas and ship them in.
Same would aply if you had got more people to want to remain. Honda still wouldn't need a production footprint in Europe. Try and look a the bigger picture and get your head out of your remain orifice

RCS you are correct about Sunderland. What protects them is the scale of Production. That plant is huge. A lot different to Honda which is running on less than 50% capacity. All very sad, but Honda has been on the edge for a few years now. Hopefuly a workforce with that skill set wll find employment.

ctfc-fan wrote:But then we have JLR who have failed to notice the reducing demand for diesel vehicles and the Chinese market and who have found themselves in the mire. It was twisted to suggest Brexit was the issue when it clearly wasn’t.

JLR invested by building production plants (esp in China) in many countries, long before Mr Cameron even mentioned a referendum. Their moving of production capacity was made on purely financial grounds and in Europe's case, backed with grants from the EUm

Ihearye wrote:

Johnsons Red Army wrote:Yet another fallout from this Brexit farce.

Were it not for Brexit, I'm convinced that plant would be staying open.

Utter rubbish! Why are you so certain. Spent 12 very happy years installing software in that plant and in the new line when it started up.
That new line has been closed now for a long time. Output is dropping.
The main factor has to be seen as the new EU trade deal with Japan. There is now no need for them to have a production Base in mainland Europe, let alone the UK. With the number of Hondas sold in Europe, it's now that's to the trade deal, cheaper to build them overseas and ship them in.
Same would aply if you had got more people to want to remain. Honda still wouldn't need a production footprint in Europe. Try and look a the bigger picture and get your head out of your remain orifice

Someone’s touchy !!!!!

Johnsons Red Army wrote:

Ihearye wrote:

Johnsons Red Army wrote:Yet another fallout from this Brexit farce.

Were it not for Brexit, I'm convinced that plant would be staying open.

Utter rubbish! Why are you so certain. Spent 12 very happy years installing software in that plant and in the new line when it started up.
That new line has been closed now for a long time. Output is dropping.
The main factor has to be seen as the new EU trade deal with Japan. There is now no need for them to have a production Base in mainland Europe, let alone the UK. With the number of Hondas sold in Europe, it's now that's to the trade deal, cheaper to build them overseas and ship them in.
Same would aply if you had got more people to want to remain. Honda still wouldn't need a production footprint in Europe. Try and look a the bigger picture and get your head out of your remain orifice

Someone’s touchy !!!!!

Not touchy – just amazed at how keyboard warriors like yourself, will jump on other people’s misery and misfortune to attempt to push your agenda. No matter how disparate. You need to take a good look at yourself, if you are this sad.

I think you need to calm down. Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning? Lighten up ffs!

The guy from Honda said it's absolutely nothing to do with Brexit. He has no reason to say that if it isn't true. The end.

Putin said events in Salisbury last year were nothing to do with Russia. The end.

Well, I will have to accept his words at face value as I have no evidence to the contrary.

Not sure what confused.com is crying about, though. So what, I speculated on something yesterday that turned out today not to be the case. Big deal. I don't have a crystal ball.

Given what businesses have been telling the Government since the Brexit vote, i.e. we want clarity so we can plan our operations accordingly, it seemed plausible that the decision would be Brexit-related. And given that it's less than 6 weeks away from the date we are supposed to leave the EU, and there is still no clarity for businesses, it seemed even more plausible that this was Brexit-related.

But alas, it turns out that my speculation was wrong. Allegedly.

Crime of the century apparently and I'm a tosser for even considering it. Yawn.

Grow up confused.com and stop being such a baby.

The company I work at has canned several major programmes (some which I would have been directly involved in) explicitly due to Brexit concerns - and that is 100% fact. Will they go to the media and make public announcements saying it has been done "due to Brexit concerns"?

No, they will not. That would be politically embarrassing: big companies want governments on their side. It's not that hard to understand.

(BTW: I was the first person on this thread to suggest that the Honda decision was more likely swayed by the EU/Japan trade agreement. I'm not suggesting that Brexit was the only, or even the most important, consideration in their decision - but to deny that it never factored into their thinking at all is crazy.)

asl wrote:Putin said events in Salisbury last year were nothing to do with Russia. The end.

He had something to gain by saying that, though. The Honda guy has nothing to gain either way by saying it's not because of Brexit.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... se-in-2021" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Automotive industry experts said that while multiple factors are behind Swindon’s closure, uncertainty about Britain’s future trading relationship with the EU must have played a part."


Forget what the experts have to say, the Robins Nesters have spoken!

It's not Brexit-related and that is the end of this matter.

Why listen to an "expert" when you can literally take it from the horse's mouth?

"Ian Howells, senior vice-president for Honda in Europe, told the BBC: "We're seeing unprecedented change in the industry on a global scale. We have to move very swiftly to electrification of our vehicles because of demand of our customers and legislation.

"This is not a Brexit-related issue for us, it's being made on the global-related changes I've spoken about."

Here's also a piece from last September, when Honda said they would keep the plant open, whatever happens with Brexit: https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/new ... n-swindon/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Johnsons Red Army wrote:Yet another fallout from this Brexit farce.

Were it not for Brexit, I'm convinced that plant would be staying open.

So the global slow down in vehicle sales has no influence in this.

Typical idiot remoaner.

Catch up, this was posted nearly a month ago now!

Also, I note your use of insulting language again. Such a shame that you, and others, cannot debate without resorting to childish insults. Grow up please!