THE Honda plant's closure will have a massive ripple effect on businesses in and around Swindon - and the UK as a whole, one employee argued.

Paul Davies took early redundancy in November from his job at TS Tech in Highworth, which makes seats for the cars assembled on the production line in the manufacturer’s South Marston site and is expected to close later this year because Honda is its main customer.

He joined the hundreds of people who marched through the town in May 2019 and formed part of the small committee of local politicians, union representatives and workers who went to Parliament in a failed bid to convince the Japanese company to stay in Swindon.

Paul said: "A lot of people moved to the area for the jobs at TS Tech and Honda and other companies in the supply chain, so I think they'll move away and go to wherever the next jobs are.

“The general feeling seems to be they can't wait for July but it's not going to be easy to find jobs as a lot of people will be out of work and looking at the same time.

"Suppliers all over the country will be hit hard and will probably have to cut jobs. I met the taskforce and people were there from all over England and Wales.

"TS Tech helped us by bringing in other companies to give us advice. I'm going on a course to get my lorry driving qualifications.

"I still keep in touch with my former colleagues and there isn't much talk about what they are going to do when they leave, they just expect to look for another job or go to an agency, it's not really an everyday conversation.

"People are happy with their redundancy money - we fought for a good package and got one in the end. I expect they will use it as a fall-back to pay the bills during the first couple of months while they try to find work.

"TS Tech does a lot for the Highworth community - they paid for bins and flowerbeds, they did hog roasts with the local butchers, that will be a big loss.

"We met up in a pub to say farewell when someone left the company, and people popped into the newsagents on the way to work, that's all going to go.

"And there'll be a lot of empty floor-space and units on the industrial estate in Blackworth. I don't think people realise just how many people outside of the company this closure will affect in small knock-on ways like that, it's massive."

John McGookin of Unite the Union added: "The general feeling across the supply chain and Honda is one of tension. People are worried about Covid but want July to be done and gone.

"The packages that have been negotiated have been well received. It's hard to say what the next few months will be like."