Production at two of Honda's Chinese factories was suspended due to a walkout at a parts affiliate. The disruption at Foshan Fengfu Autoparts Co.came at the heels of a settlement between Honda and another wholly owned parts factory that had forced the Japanese automaker to freeze production at four car assembly factories due to a lack of parts.
Foshan Fengfu is a joint venture between Honda subsidiary Yutaka Giken Co., which owns about 70 percent, and Taiwanese firm Moonstone Holding Co. Production was suspended Wednesday at the two factories of Honda joint venture Guangqi Honda Automobile Co. due to a "labor dispute," Honda said in a statement.
Reports by the official Xinhua News Agency that the 200 workers who had walked off the job at Foshan Fengfu had agreed Tuesday to return to work were not confirmed, said Honda spokesman, Yoshiyuki Kuroda. But Kuroda did say that the production at the other two factories was not affected because they had a sufficient supply of parts on hand.
This on going dispute is an indicator of growing animosity between the foreign companies and the Chinese workers who are demanding a better pay and working conditions.
