JAMSHEDPUR: With a slowdown in the automobile sector, operations in Tata Motors plant in the Steel City were shut for two days on Friday and Saturday. However, the plant was effectively shut for four days with August 15 and 18 being public holidays. Sources in the company said production will resume from Monday.
A Tata Motors official speaking to TOI on the condition of anonymity said, “In the past three months, the plant was closed for about 15 days in four separate block closures.” In June this year, when the company went for its first block closure due to a sharp drop in demand for heavy vehicles, Tata Motors vice-president (manufacturing, commercial vehicles) Ajoy Lall had said, “The overall demand in the commercial vehicle industry has softened and our commercial vehicle production is aligned to the demand.”
On Thursday, in his Independence Day speech, Tata Motors plant head Vishal Badshah conceded that the company has been affected by the drop in demand. He, however, expressed confidence that the company will bounce back with in the coming days.
Meanwhile, sources in the Tata Motors Workers’ Union said 3,500 to 3,800 vehicles are being produced per month against the monthly production of 12,000 vehicles until April this year. “As of now, there have been no lay-offs of permanent employees, but times are uncertain for the workers as the slump in the sector is unlikely to ease for the next couple of months,” said a union leader requesting anonymity.
With a workforce of over 10,000, including permanent and non-permanent employees, Tata Motors produces trucks, trailers and other multi-axle vehicles at its Jamshedpur plant.
In a ripple effect, the ancillary units of Tata Motors in Adityapur Industrial Area have also been hit. Nearly 70% of the factories are shut and the workers have been rendered jobless.
On Friday, 25-year-old Ashish Kumar, a resident of Baridih police station area who worked in one such ancillary unit, committed suicide as he was afraid he would lose his job. His father, Kumar Biswajeet, said he was under stress. On August 9, Prabhat Kumar (20), a resident of Golmuri, committed suicide after he was sacked by the ancillary unit he worked for.