Maruti Suzuki recently reported a loss of 1,800 units in production as the third day of strikes continued at their Manesar plant. A spokesperson for the company said that the company’s management is in talks with the striking workers at their north Indian facility, as the strikes continued for the third day affecting the company’s shares and disrupting the output.
The chairman of the company, R.C. Bhargava was quoted as saying that the 11 employees who were responsible for inciting their workers to strike and who created an unsafe work environment have had their services terminated. He also added that the workers went on strike without giving any notice; however he said that the management was still continuing talks with their striking employees.
Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar facility produces around 1,200 models per day in two separate shifts. Maruti models like their A-Star and Swift hatchbacks and their DZiRE sedan are produced at the Manesar facility. The company has suffered as estimated loss of around Rs.1bn or $22.3mn till Monday, suffering a loss in production of 600-650 models for each of their four shifts that were affected. Bhargava however added that the company has sufficient stock present at their plant as of now.
Shiv Kumar, the company’s newly formed Maruti Suzuki Employees Union’s General Secretary was also sacked, claiming that their management had last had talks with them last Saturday concerning their demands. He added that the company did not have any talks with them on Monday, and just issued hem their termination notice. He also said that they would continue striking till their demands were met with.
The strike at the company’s Manesar plant has come at a time when the company is witnessing a decrease in their sales growth rate, as the Indian automotive industry struggles with the challenges faced because of increasing interest rates and fuel prices. The company’s domestic sales in May increased by just 3.9%, selling around 93,519 models in comparison to the 90,041 models the company sold in the same period, last year. The current strike adds more woes to the increasing number of labour unrest incidents in the Indian automotive industry.