Honda to slash production by 50% at domestic plant in early May

FILE PHOTO: Honda's logo on its Modulo model is pictured at its showroom at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, Feb. 19, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co is planning to cut production by about 50% on two lines of one of its domestic factories in early May due to chip shortages and COVID-19 lockdowns, the company said on Thursday.

The factory in the city of Suzuka will also slash its production by half for the month of April, expanding the scale of the cutback from an earlier announcement that it would cut back production by about a third.