Everybody Hurts, Sometimes

Like everyone, Honda is cutting production. The Financial Times reports that Honda’s Swindon, England plant is shutting down for the months of February and March. The Japanese company’s reputation for employee friendliness is taking a bit hit with the news that Honda’s ”5,000 workers in Swindon will be laid off without pay during the shutdown.” The much lauded Japanese no layoff policy has gone by the wayside at Honda just as it has at Mazda and Isuzu. Toyota is likewise shoving people out the door of it’s Japanese factories without pay, but continues to hide behind the “contract workers” ruse which has long allowed them to in reality hire and fire to meet demand changes while claiming not to do so. Toyota “plans to reduce the number of contract workers on its Japanese payroll to about 3,000 by the first quarter of next year from more than 9,000 in the same period this year.” In simple terms, Toyota is laying off 6,000 people … without calling them layoffs. Meanwhile, “Fitch Ratings downgraded Nissan’s long-term debt rating on Friday from “A-minus” to “BBB-plus” and signaled that further cuts could follow.” Layoffs, plant shut-downs, debt rating downgrades and plunging profits. Sound familiar?