MANILA—Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) on Saturday announced it will close its automobile production operations in Laguna next month.

Honda's car factory in Santa Rosa city, "which produces passenger cars, BR-V, City," will halt its operations, the manufacturer said in a statement.

"To meet Honda’s customer needs in the Philippines for reasonably priced and good quality products, Honda considered efficient allocation and distribution of resources," the carmaker said.

"As such, after consideration of optimization efforts in the production operations in Asia and Oceania region, Honda decided to close the manufacturing operations of HCPI."

According to company spokesperson Louie Soriano, 387 employees will be affected by the closure.

"All affected associates will be given separation packages more than what the law provides," Soriano said.

"This is intended to assist or help them in this difficult situations.

Honda Philippines produced an average of 600 units per month last year, or an estimated 8,000 units overall in 2019.

HCPI assured it will continue "its automobile sales and after-sales service operation in the Philippines, through the utilization of Honda’s Asia and Oceania regional network."

"Honda will continue providing highly attractive products to its customers in the Philippines and continue contributing to the local society, which has been an ongoing effort for the last 50 years since Honda was established in the Philippines."

Earlier, the car giant was reportedly expected to announce the shutdown of its plant in southwest England in 2022, putting 3,500 jobs at risk.

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