Maruti Suzuki announced on Tuesday that it has been able to achieve an output of 225 cars at the Manesar plant, amidst the menace of the deadlock still prevailing between the carmaker and the workers. According to a statement issued by the company, the Manesar plant has recruited 20 additional skilled workers on Tuesday to increase the overall working force
The official statement of Maruti Suzuki confirmed the strengthening of the production operations. It stated that "This takes the current strength of people available for production to over 870. This includes in addition to freshly brought in trained workers, over 90 engineers and 290 supervisors."
Production at the plant came to a standstill after the stringent action of suspending and dismissing 21 employees was taken. The stern step was taken due to the charges levelled against the ousted employees. With regards to the charges, which included hindrance of the production process as well as intentionally affecting the quality of the vehicles, the move seemed justified.
At an industry event in New Delhi, Maruti Suzuki Chairman, R.C. Bhargava, claimed that the current situation at the company's Manesar plant would seek a solution soon. Bhargava expressed concerns by saying that the production has been paralysed at a time when the bookings for the company's new Swift car have touched a figure of around 90,000 units. He was quoted as saying, "I feel bad that we cannot produce more cars to meet the demand."
Manesar car production plant generates Maruti's best selling hatchbacks and sedans, such as Swift, Swift Dzire, A-Star and SX4. However, most of the company’s production takes place at its other three plants in the Gurgaon district. The impasse has crippled the relations between the management and workers at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. This in turn has forced the company to shift the production work of its best selling car, Swift, partially to the plant in Gurgaon.
A senior executive said that “The company is considering shifting production of Swift partly to Gurgaon because of the shortage in manpower at the Manesar unit.” Sources within the camp have hinted that the idea of shifting has been mulled upon quite sincerely, but the time duration to get the move in place was not clear.
MSIL has till now received 90,000 bookings for the latest version of Swift, which was introduced in the market on August 17. The production of the new Swift was initially planned to be carried out at the Manesar unit. MSIL, in the wake of high bookings, even ceased the production for a month in July. The move was implemented in order to increase the capabilities for manufacturing 17,000 to 18,000 units of the new Swift, from the previous month's average of 12,000 units.
As of now, the car production at Maruti Suzuki is still quite far from being on track. Moreover, no talks to pacify the unrest have taken place between the workers and the management till now. Of late, the company has suffered an estimated production loss of 2,400 units, which is worth Rs. 80 crores.
