Honda

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:21 pm on 20 February 2019.

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Photo of Dawn Bowden Dawn Bowden Labour 3:21, 20 February 2019

Minister, you'll be aware that Kasai in my constituency is a large automotive operation employing around 200 people, as Rhun ap Iorwerth has already mentioned. Now, they provide a very unique and revolutionary manufacturing process—the first of its kind in Europe, in fact, which has been largely responsible for its success and its ability to be able to secure contracts with companies like Honda and Jaguar Land Rover, which both account for a large part of its business.

Now, as you've already said, at this stage, we don't know what the impact of the Honda announcement in Swindon will be on Kasai, but in the worst case scenario, it's possible that jobs will be lost, and the impact on an area like Merthyr Tydfil on the back of recent job losses in St Merryn Meat and the proposed transfer of 200 plus Department for Work and Pensions jobs out of the town can't be underestimated. Now, I'm grateful for the information that you've already given in previous answers, but I'm going to be meeting with Kasai management tomorrow, with Gerald Jones MP, and it would be helpful if, in those discussions, we were able to provide some more reassurance about Welsh Government's ability to support them through what could be a difficult period, should they need to explore alternative markets and contracts to secure their long-term future in Merthyr. Because I'm assuming that Kasai, like many other companies, will be in a position where they're going to need to get over a hump; they don't want to lose jobs while they're doing that, while they're out in the market looking for alternative business. They may need to be developing alternative skills within their workforce to compete in different automotive markets. So, what particular support and assistance would Welsh Government be able to give a company like Kasai in that process of getting over that particular hump in terms of delivering their future security?