Maruti Suzuki India announced last week that its June maintenance shutdown would be moved to May, and that all factories would be closed between May 1 and May 9. All three are business titans. Though, Hero MotoCorp is the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, Maruti Suzuki and JCB are market leaders in their respective segments. According to industry insiders, several more businesses are considering shutting down production for a week to ensure the safety of their workers and to help break the chain and spread of coronavirus.
Even as state governments continue to consider total shutdowns, manufacturers have begun to announce plant closures in response to the increasing number of Covid cases. Hero Moto Corp extended its plant shutdown by six days until May 9. JCB India, a leading manufacturer of earthmoving and construction equipment, declared a 10-day pause across all of its manufacturing facilities in India beginning May 1.
MG Motor and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, among others, have declared a temporary halt in production at their respective facilities. Toyota Kirloskar Motor, too, has scheduled annual maintenance at both of its plants from April 26 to May 14. JCB India cited an increase in Covid cases as the reason for the temporary suspension of production at its facilities in Ballabgarh, Pune, and Jaipur.
According to Deepak Shetty, CEO and MD of JCB India, “We have agreed to halt manufacturing operations for ten days beginning May 1st, 2021… It is important to split the infection chain. Most of our workers in our offices are already operating from home, and this temporary pause in manufacturing activities will help to reduce the number of active cases in and around our manufacturing facilities. “
The company, on the other hand, stated that it has developed adequate inventory levels to meet the demand for its products during this time span. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India announced last week that its four manufacturing plants will be closed for 15 days beginning May 1, 2021.
MG Motor India, too, declared last week a seven-day shutdown of its facility in Halol, Gujarat, from April 29 to May 5. Although Hero MotoCorp had temporarily halted plant operations for four days from April 22 to May 1, citing a rapid escalation in the spread of Covid-19 across the region, the company announced on Sunday that the plant closure will be extended until May 9.
Hero MotoCorp has agreed to extend the shutdown at its manufacturing facilities across India, its Global Parts Center (GPC) in Neemrana, and the R& D facility — the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur by another six days until May 9, 2021. The plant will reopen on May 10, according to the company. According to industry insiders, while many companies in the medium- and small-scale industries have decided to temporarily shut down their factories, many more are considering doing so.
Although the central government has stated that it will not implement a full-scale lockdown because both lives and livelihoods are significant, the sharp increase in Covid cases across the country has forced many companies to take their own call and shut down plants for the safety of their employees. Many people believe that the government’s decision to allow vaccination of all adults is a positive one, and that it will allow them to continue manufacturing unhindered once their employees (mostly between the ages of 20 and 45) are vaccinated.
