Guangzhou Auto Honda to lay off about 900 contract workers

CTOnews.com, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) Honda said on Saturday that it would lay off about 900 contract workers from its Chinese joint venture, Guangzhou Auto Honda, because of its rapid shift to the electric car market.

A spokesman for Tuyuan Pixabay Honda said the job cuts were equivalent to 7 per cent of the joint venture's about 10, 3000 employees. Guangzhou Auto Honda said that after careful consideration, it terminated the personnel dispatch agreement with the labor company. For the labor dispatch personnel involved, GAC Honda will provide financial compensation in accordance with the rules and regulations in a timely manner, and actively assist relevant personnel in re-employment.

GAC Honda's sales in the first 10 months of 2023 totaled about 490000 vehicles, down 18.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Because of strong demand in the US, Honda sold 3.2 million vehicles worldwide from January to October, while sales in China, which accounts for 30 per cent of total sales, fell nearly 1/5 from the same period last year, ranking China alongside the US as one of Honda's largest markets.

CTOnews.com noted that it was not just Honda. It was reported in July that Toyota had cut about 1000 jobs at its joint venture, Guangzhou Auto Toyota Motor, and that its other Chinese joint venture, FAW Toyota Motor, had partially halted production from Friday. In addition, GAC-Mitsubishi announced in October this year that it would become a wholly owned subsidiary of GAC restructuring Group, and the factory capacity would be taken over by Ian.