Honda recruits soldiers to protect Thai plant
Honda Motor Co. has brought in 200 soldiers to secure its motorcycle plant in Bangkok, Thailand, against floodwaters.
Thai authorities released large amounts of water to a floodplain earlier this month after monsoon rains dumped about 25 percent more precipitation than the 30-year average, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.
Honda’s automotive factory in the Ayutthaya province has already overflowed, so the soldiers were brought in using personal ties to build a levy around a motorcycle facility.
“This is our final stand,” Pongdej Sriwachirapradit, general manager of Thai Honda Manufacturing Co., told Bloomberg Businessweek and other reporters Thursday. “The government needs to show it can protect this last major industrial estate. Foreign investors, especially the Japanese, are watching closely.”