Honda extends North America auto production halt through May 8

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Honda Motor Co said Thursday it will extend a shutdown of all of its North American auto plants through May 8 and extend unpaid leaves for many salaried workers.

Honda, which began its North American production shutdown on March 23, is extending its production halt by another week. The Japanese automaker also said it is extending a two-week furlough for the majority of salaried and support associates at Honda operations by another week.

Separately, General Motors Co said Thursday it was considering calling back some workers next week to prepare for the restart of production in North America that could begin as early as May 4, but said no decisions have been made.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul)