London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

Honda closure taskforce 'has not met since June'

Honda closure taskforce 'has not met since June'

Honda said "no viable alternative" to the Swindon plant closure had been found during consultation.

A taskforce to coordinate a response to Swindon's Honda plant's closure has not met since June, the BBC has learned.

In February the company said it would close the factory by 2021 with the loss of 3,500 jobs, and earlier this week Honda Logistics said it too would shut.

The group was set up to support workers and those in Honda's supply chain, as well as plan a future for the site.

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said it was doing everything it could to support workers.

It said the "work of local leaders and the taskforce has made it clear that Swindon is a key place to invest".

Labour's parliamentary candidate for South Swindon Sarah Church said: "In less than two years this site will be closed. It will be a really significant hit to our local economy. This should be the highest priority for local politicians.

"I'm aware they are distracted by Brexit, but this is locally huge and the fact they haven't met since June doesn't instil any confidence they have a plan to tackle this problem."


Battery plant

The taskforce brought together political and business leaders but has not met since the then business secretary, Greg Clark, was replaced by Andrea Leadsom in reshuffle following Boris Johnson's election as Conservative leader and prime minister.

Employment-based options for the future use of the site have been considered and Swindon Borough Council has insisted the land should not be used for housing.

Honda of the UK Manufacturing Ltd, which still owns the site, said: "Discussions around potential investment are confidential, and we would not therefore comment on the content or outcome."

Last month Labour announced at its party conference it would fund a battery production plant on the vast South Marston site.

The borough council has said as the land is owned by Honda, it would be up to the firm who it sold it to.

Honda has not wanted to comment about it openly but said it was talking to local and national government about the options.

South Swindon Conservative MP, Robert Buckland, said there were plenty of options on the table once Honda decided what it wanted to do with its site.

"Whether that's through an Enterprise Zone or securing the site in terms of purchase, we'll find a way to help lever really high quality investment to make sure the jobs of the future attract high wages and high skills," he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×