Japanese car giant Honda is understood to be preparing to announce the closure of its massive Swindon plant with the loss of all 3,500 jobs – dealing a devastating blow to the town’s economy and putting it firmly at the heart of the ongoing row over the impact of Brexit on British manufacturing. Reports...
The region’s most ethical organisations will be celebrated next month when the South West Fair Trade Business Awards are staged for the seventh year. Tickets are selling fast for the ceremony on March 8, which will be hosted by Countdown presenter Nick Hewer and takes place in Bristol’s magnificent Arnos Vale cemetery heritage site. ...
Firms across the West of England could face “severe difficulties” in employing enough staff to stay in business if government post-Brexit plans to restrict overseas workers come into effect, according to the CBI. An immigration visa system now under consultation could prevent firms employing workers on salaries of less than £30,000 for more than...
A flurry of new business won by its space division in December gave specialist IT and software group SCISYS a better-than-expected end to 2018, it said in a trading update today. The Chippenham-headquartered group landed a series of contract wins with an aggregate value of £23m during the month. That bolstered its order...
Leaving the EU without a deal would be ‘devastating’ for the South West’s economy, hitting the region’s output by a staggering £13bn a year, the CBI warned today. As Prime Minister Theresa May continues to refuse to rule out a ‘no deal’ Brexit if her deal is not approved by Parliament, business groups have...
The “overriding priority” for both the government and Parliament must be to avoid a no deal Brexit following last night’s overwhelming defeat of the Prime Minister’s deal, the region’s largest business organisation said today. Business West, which runs the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, said firms in the region now found themselves “facing the unwelcome...
Nearly 40% of West of England business owners back a second Brexit referendum while just one in 10 is confident the government will secure a good deal for the UK, according to the region’s largest business survey. Worryingly, more than 40% of the senior managers and directors taking part did not know whether their...
The director-general of the CBI used a visit to the West of England today to warn that a no deal Brexit would hit the its manufacturing and services industries hard as well as scuppering vital export deals. Speaking to a gathering of senior business figures in Bristol, Carolyn Fairbairn, pictured, urged the government to...
SCISYS Deutschland, the German arm of the Chippenham-based specialist IT group SCISYS, has landed its fourth space-related contract in as many weeks. The latest deal, with an anticipated contract value of €2.8m (£2.5m), has come from long-term customer the European Space Agency (ESA). SCISYS, which also supplies its bespoke software systems and support services...
Japanese car giant Honda is to halt production at its Swindon plant for six days in April to stockpile components and help it overcome border disruption after the UK leaves the EU. Honda, which employs 4,000 people at the plant making Civic cars and engines for the global market, said it had been assessing...
