Tata Motors to shut Jamshedpur plant for five more days
24 Nov 2008
The global recession has hit the Indian auto industry hard. Tata Motors, the country's top auto maker, will, for the second time, close its Jamshedpur plant for five days from 25 November to 29 November, according to company spokesperson, PJ Singh.
Though the plant was officially shut down earlier from 6 November to 8 November, adding holidays 5 and 9 November it amounted to an unofficial five day shut-down.
The production target was reduced 15 per cent in October and 3,000 temporary workers were laid off in a phased manner.
The November shutdowns come in the wake of a sharp fall in demand.
Meanwhile, over 70 per cent of small scale industries depending on Tata Motors have been affected by the slowdown.
Bachcha Singh, spokesperson of Telco Workers Union, said the workers are with the company management. The union has suggested that the company management adopt measures to cut costs to meet the challenges of the slowdown, he added.
Company officials maintain that 125,000 heavy vehicles had rolled off the Tata motors assembly line during 2007-2008 financial year but, with the slump in the economy, only around 50,000 heavy vehicles have been produced in the current financial year.
Though the current financial year target is pegged at 150,000 vehicles, it may be only possible to manufacture 100,000 vehicles if current trends continue, company officials said.
According to company sources, temporary closures form part of the company's strategy to match production with demand.
Tata Motors, with over130 models for commercial transport solutions, is among the world's top five medium and heavy commercial vehicle manufacturers. From 2 tonne LCVs to buses, tippers to special purpose vehicles and defence vehicles, the company manufactures vehicles for a wide range of applications.
