Honda's UK boss warns Britain must stay at heart of EU as it cuts 800 jobs Honda has invested £2bn in the UK and exports the vast majority of its car production at its Swindon plant to Europe. It made 165,607 cars in 2012 and employs 3,500 people. Mr Hodgetts said Honda would accept a changed relationship between the UK and the EU if it didn't affect the competitiveness of UK manufacturers. "But when we see an anti-competitive situation if we were outside the EU then we wouldn't support that," he said. Honda blamed its decision to cut jobs at Swindon on the slump in demand for cars from Europe, with the market there down by about a million cars last year as a result of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. The car maker said despite falling sales in Europe overall, sales were still growing in the UK. It is the first time Honda has made compulsory redundancies in the UK, since it started making cars here in 1992. The job cuts will be made by April. "I have worked at the factory for over 20 years and I am disappointed that we are forced to take this action, especially after what we have come through over the last few years with the Tsunami in Japan and Thai flooding," said Mr Hodgetts. As recently as September the company said it was investing £267m at Swindon to support the introduction of a new Civic, a new CR-V model and a new 1.6-litre diesel engine for Honda Civic. It was Honda's largest investment in the UK in 10 years, and around 500 people were recruited last year as part of the expansion. Unite, Britain's biggest union, said the job cuts at Swindon dealt a "hammer blow" to UK manufacturing and the local economy. However, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said that while the news was "very disappointing," long-term prospects for the UK car industry remained good.