‘Not just a job – it’s a life’

A Unite petition urging Honda, to stay in the UK has attracted over 12,000 signatures in just three days.

This strong show of support follows last week’s announcement that Honda will close its Swindon car factory in 2021 with the loss of 3,500 highly skilled jobs.  A further 12,000 jobs in the supply chain are also at risk.

The fallout from this sudden, shocking news will be felt in jobs and communities across the south west and the UK. Workers and their families have been left devastated.

Thousands of people have already urged Honda to think again – here’s what some of them have said:

“Friends work at Honda. This is much more than just a local issue. Wake up for once UK government,” Rob

“Always had a Honda as they were reliable, shameful that the company don’t have the same attitude or loyalty to their workforce.  A major re-think is urgently required into this dreadful situation,” Janet

“Any loss of employment is awful for the individual, but of this scale it is disastrous for the town and Britain,” Neil

“I am worried about the families of all those workers who will lose their jobs!” Gabriel

“This feels like the first step of a downward spiral for the car trade, which I am in. It will start killing off an already depleted number of skilled labour. The UK will lose its world class status of innovation and technology,” Tony

“Extremely important this remains in the UK for workforce and potential knock on effect this will have for many others,” Neil

“For some people Honda isn’t just a job it’s their life.  It will have massive impact on the town and surrounding areas, it would be sad to make the workers suffer,” Matt

Unite is determined to fight for the future of UK manufacturing and the car industry. We must show that the Honda Swindon factory can be transformed into a world-class hub for emerging electric and hydrogen technology. Our members have the high skills needed to make it happen.

If you haven’t already signed the petition please take a minute to sign and share it now, along with a message of solidarity.  The workers from Honda Swindon urgently need your support.

Tomorrow Honda workers will travel to Parliament to lobby MPs and government – stay tuned to UNITElive for the latest news.

#SaveHondaSwindon