When a strike broke out at a Honda components factory in southern China this month, the Chinese deputy general manager pleaded with his assembly line compatriots to return to work.
After the workers refused, a senior executive from Guangzhou Automobile – a Honda partner in the Japanese company’s nearby assembly plants – was dispatched to negotiate.
As the dispute threatened to spiral out of control, the only trace of the Japanese executives at Honda Lock was the signature of the expat general manager on a stern notice to workers, warning them to return to their posts or be dealt with “according to relevant national laws, regulations and company policies”.