By Alberto Alerigi
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Japan’s Honda Motor Co <7267.T> on Tuesday said it will stop producing automobiles in Argentina next year as part of a global shift in how it shares production between regions.
Honda said its Campana plant in the province of Buenos Aires, which produces the HR-V model, will focus solely on making on motorcycles. Honda started making motorcycles in Argentina in 2006 and began auto production there in 2011.
Responding to Reuters questions, Honda said in a statement the decision was part of a global reorganization of auto production and was unrelated to the results of the primary elections in Argentina on Sunday.
Around 1,000 employees work in Honda Argentina, and the company is in talks with the local union to offer a buyout for the employees involved in the auto production, the company said.
(Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr.; editing by Bill Rigby and Sandra Maler)
