Honda suspends production for a week
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Honda Automobile (Thailand) will suspend production at its plant in Rojana Industrial Estate, Ayutthaya, for a week as its suppliers are facing flash floods.
Labour Inspector-General Arthit Issamo as acting director-general of the Labour Welfare and Protection Department, said that as of October 5, a number of 1,215 plants in 33 provinces are flooded. Together, they employ 41,999 workers.
According to Bloomberg, Canon Inc also halted operations at its inkjet printer plant in Ayutthaya, because of flooding. It will keep the factory closed tomorrow as a precautionary measure.
According to Honda's executive Pitak Pruittisarikorn, three of the affected plants in Ayutthaya belong to the company's suppliers.
He said that as the suppliers in Ayutthaya could not operate as usual, Honda would need to temporarily shut down the production line though its own plant has been spared by the floods.
He noted that Honda could raise production later.
Honda’s plant in Ayutthaya has an annual capacity of 240,000 units. It just resumed full operation last month, following supply disruption in the aftermath of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in March.
The Industry Ministry has set up a war room to gather information on industrial factories affected by the floods.
Witoon Simachokdee, permanent secretary, said measures would be put in place to help those affected financially. Initially, the Board of Investment has agreed to extend free import duty on machinery replacements while the Industrial Works Department will waive the annual license fee. Witoon said that more than 500 industrial plants in 19 provinces are submerged in floodwater and some may have to suspend production for three months, resulting in huge opportunity losses.
