Japanese car maker Honda Motor will shut a major production plant in the U.K., becoming the latest auto group to plan a pull back from the U.K. as Brexit looms.
The closure of the plant in Swindon, a pro-Brexit district in southwest England, was confirmed by local British lawmaker Justin Tomlinson and fills out a picture suggesting that the nation’s car-manufacturing industry is in decline.
“They are clear this is based on global trends and not Brexit,” Mr. Tomlinson said in a statement, saying the factory will be closed in 2021-22. Currently, 3,500 people work at the plant, with thousands more in the factory’s supply chain. A Honda spokesman declined to comment.
With Britain’s departure from the European Union scheduled for just over a month away, contingency planning by businesses is kicking into higher gear.
The auto sector is particularly sensitive to Brexit, with executives worrying that cars and vehicle components sold into the trade bloc would face tariffs after the U.K. leaves the EU. Another fear is that checks would imposed at borders that would slow the flow of car parts between factories on the continent and Britain.
An expanded version of this story can be found at WSJ.com
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