Honda to build auto plant in the Midwest

[Drew]

The $400 million plant that Honda Motor Co. plans to add in North America as part of a global expansion will employ 1,500 workers and be built in the Midwest by 2008, company officials said Wednesday.

Honda officials would not say which states are under consideration for the plant or when a decision will be made, other than the company is in the final stages of securing a site. Ohio and Indiana officials have said they are in the running for the site.

Earlier Wednesday, the automaker announced plans to build the new plant in the United States — its sixth in North America — as part of a sweeping $1.18 billion plan to meet soaring demand for its cars.

“We’d like to have it sooner rather than later,” Larry Jutte, a senior Honda vice president, said during a conference call with reporters. “We’re in the final phases of our due-diligence process for selection.”

Jutte said no decision has yet been made on what kind of vehicles the plant will produce.

Honda also plans to erect a new assembly factory in Japan and an engine plant in Canada. The three plants are aimed at meeting an ambitious 34 percent increase in annual sales to 4.5 million vehicles a year by 2010, Honda President and CEO Takeo Fukui said at a news conference in Tokyo.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Drew]

Originally Posted by everso pretty big slap in the face to US carmakers....who are constantly shutting down plants and firing people. Then low and behold Honda announces more plant openings. good for UAW workers though, who can readily use their skills for a new job.

I wouldn’t call it a slap in the face at all. The American car companies are a victim of America’s Health Care system. And our politicians have shown time and time again that they don’t care or rather will do nothing to help the situation. After all Honda and GM have had a working relationship for years. The Saturn VUE and Honda Ridgeline both being products of that relationship.

I would say both our government and the auto makers are relived that someone else is going to come back in and employ some of the auto workers being laid off by the others. Also though it is good news 1,500 jobs is a tiny drop in the bucket to the overall problem. But I don’t see anyone considering this a “slap in the face”.

[Drew]

Originally Posted by everso Originally Posted by Drew Originally Posted by everso pretty big slap in the face to US carmakers....who are constantly shutting down plants and firing people. Then low and behold Honda announces more plant openings. good for UAW workers though, who can readily use their skills for a new job. I wouldn’t call it a slap in the face at all. The American car companies are a victim of America’s Health Care system. And our politicians have shown time and time again that they don’t care or rather will do nothing to help the situation. After all Honda and GM have had a working relationship for years. The Saturn VUE and Honda Ridgeline both being products of that relationship. I would say both our government and the auto makers are relived that someone else is going to come back in and employ some of the auto workers being laid off by the others. Also though it is good news 1,500 jobs is a tiny drop in the bucket to the overall problem. But I don’t see anyone considering this a “slap in the face”. the health care system is involved in negotiations between the UAW and the auto companies, and it definitely does strike a big expense blow to taking care of employees....however if there wasn't underlying difficulty at the US carmakers' offices, these concerns could have been managed as they have in the past (with varying degrees of success, mind you) and as they are in other industries. it is good news, i agree. however it would be a good sign to see US companies opening a new factory (and/or not closing down another one) rather than a Japanese firm strongly opening a new one. Still, good news for workers...definitely.

LOL well yeah it would also be good news the see the Muslims and Jews stop fighting each other!! I was just trying to keep this thread in the realm of reality! American Auto makers will never start opining new plants here again. That era is over and is never coming back. Even the UK and the EU are going through the same problems.

The only place you are going to see significant new plants are in China and Malaysia. And that will be from the majority of auto makers, not just the American ones.

[Drew]

The UK has actually been hit even harder than the USA with auto plant lay offs. Because the country is much smaller and the loss of those jobs has more of an economic impact than the US. Here is an article about that -

General Motors to Slash 900 Jobs at Its British Vauxhall Car Factory

LONDON (AP) -- General Motors Corp. said Wednesday it is axing 900 jobs at the British plant of its subsidiary Vauxhall, confirming union fears and renewing a lament for Britain's rapidly disappearing car manufacturing sector.

GM pledged to try to retain a presence in Britain when it announced it was cutting one of three shifts at its Ellesmere Port factory in northern England as it reduces production of its Vauxhall Astra model.

The job cuts follow the collapse last year of MG Rover Group Ltd., Britain's last major auto maker, with the loss of more than 6,000 jobs.

Ford Motor Co.'s Jaguar unit cut 1,000 jobs when it moved its factory in Coventry, central England, to nearby Birmingham, and PSA Peugeot Citroen SA will shed 2,300 jobs when it closes its own plant near Coventry.

"This is a bad news day whatever words are used to try to soften the blow," said Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union. "This plant, our industry and our country cannot afford to keep shedding skills like this."

GM said its decision reflected ongoing pressure in the European car industry to increase productivity and reduce costs.

"Quality and productivity have shown significant improvements, but the issue of long-term competitiveness remains. We need to address this," said Vauxhall Chairman Jon Browning.

"We are putting together a plan to secure, if at all possible, the future of vehicle manufacturing in the U.K.," he said.

Vauxhall is expected to decide next year where it will manufacture its new generation of Astra cars.

British Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling, who traveled to the plant with Treasury Chief Gordon Brown to meet managers Wednesday, said the government would consider a proposal for financial aid for Ellesmere Port to manufacture the new Astra model.

"We cannot make a formal decision on that today, as we have to go through the proper procedure," he said. But it is fair to say that when Vauxhall and unions have come to us with world-class projects in the past, we have responded positively as we would hope to do in the future."

Browning said the company would try to cut the jobs through voluntary retirement.

Carl-Peter Forster, president of General Motors in Europe, said the company had looked for alternatives to job cuts but had found nothing viable.

"This is essential to compensate the higher cost base in Western Europe and to secure the future, given today's competitive environment," he said.

"It is something that works to meet current capacity projections, and not something we expect to see repeated at Ellesmere Port in the current Astra's life cycle, nor is it an indicator of future product allocation decisions," he added.

[T-Bird]

well Honda already has a plant in Ohio so I don't see why they don't put another one there, it is also where most of their cars are shipped out from all our acuras from canada and ohio come from the same yard. the only other yard I know of is in San Diego.