Japanese motor company Honda dismissed 400 of a total of 3,487 employees at its plant in Sumare, in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, for lack of parts imported from Japan, dpa reported. The supply of imported parts to make the models Fit, City and Civic was affected by the quake and tsunami that shook Japan in March. For this reason, Honda plans to reduce to half until June the production of these vehicles in Sumare. The lay-off of 12 per cent of personnel at the plant was announced late Wednesday, less than a week after Honda suspended production. Paulo Takeuchi, Honda's Institutional Relations director for Brazil, said the move is to generate a drop of 30 per cent in production and 20 per cent in sales. "Until the end of this year the situation will probably remain complicated," Takeuchi said. He did not rule out further personnel cuts in the future. Jair dos Santos, head of the Brazilian Metal Workers Union, said last week that Honda is planning to dismiss as many as 1,270 workers, which might in turn affect labour in other companies. The union favours instead a reduction of the working day until the supply of parts is back to normal.
