Honda to cut production by another 18,000 vehicles

NEW YORK: Honda Motor Co said it will cut its North American production by another 18,000 vehicles, citing the industry wide drop in demand for new vehicles.

Honda spokesman Ed Miller yesterday said the cuts are on top of others announced earlier this year and bring the automaker's total production cuts since August to 50,000 units.

Miller said 12,000 of the cuts will be made at Honda's plant in Lincoln, Alabama, which makes the Odyssey minivan and Pilot sport utility vehicle.

The other 6,000 will be made at a plants in East Liberty, Ohio, which makes the Element, CRV and Civic; and Marysville, Ohio, which makes the Accord along with the Acura TL and RDX, Miller said.

Honda said it won't need to make work force changes as a result of the cuts. Production will be slowed at the Lincoln plant, while the plants in Ohio will be shut down for an additional two days around the Christmas holiday, Miller said.

Tough economic conditions and tight credit markets have cut into auto sales across the industry this year, forcing many automakers who produce vehicles in the United States to cut production.

With the cuts, Honda said it now expects to produce about 1.41 million vehicles in North America for the fiscal year ending March 31, down from 1.44 million in fiscal 2007.