Honda Motor has begun procedures to let go of more than 1,000 employees in China, mainly involving workers from the Japanese auto giant's joint venture with local carmaker GAC Group.

The release of personnel may include middle-level managers and other management personnel, Guangqi Hongda Automobile told Yicai. The JV employs more than 10,000 workers, with the layoff aiming to ensure its sustainable operations, quicken its strategic transition, and increase employee efficiency, it added.

The latest layoff involves multiple departments, according to insiders. Guangqi Hongda Auto has begun dismissal procedures, mainly via voluntary layoffs, they noted, adding that it will compensate such volunteers.

Some production staff will not have their labor contracts renewed upon expiring for the first time, Guangqi Hongda Auto said. For those terminating their contracts voluntarily, the company will provide compensation according to relevant rules and laws, with the amount still to be negotiated, it added.

Honda sold around 206,900 cars in China in the three months ended March 31, down 6 percent from a year earlier. Guangqi Hongda Auto's sales fell 8.1 percent to 108,361 units.

Last November, Guangqi Honda Auto dismissed around 900 contract workers, equal to about 7 percent of its workers, its first layoff since it was set up 25 years ago.

Guangqi Honda Auto ended labor dispatch agreements with external labor service agencies, leading to the workforce cut, it said at the time, adding that full-time employees were not impacted.

 （Picture: Veer）