Honda Motor plans to close its car factory in western England in 2021, the company said on Tuesday.
The Japanese automaker announced the decision which will imperil 3,500 jobs and possibly many more.
Honda’s president and CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, told reporters the decision was not related to Brexit, but was based on what made most sense for its global competitiveness in light of the need to accelerate its production of electric vehicles.
“We still don’t know what sort of changes Brexit will bring at this point,” he said. Mr. Hachigo said the company would begin discussions with affected workers at the factory in Swindon right away.
