Maruti Suzuki to shut down Haryana plants for two days
India's biggest automaker Maruti Suzuki has announced 'no production days' in Haryana. As part of this, the company has announced that two of its plants in the state - one in Manesar and the other in Gurugram - will remain closed. The shutdown will last for a period of two days, the company added. Here's all about it.
On Wednesday, Maruti Suzuki made a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to note that it will not conduct any passenger vehicle manufacturing operations at its Gurugram and Manesar plants. It said that the plants would remain closed for two days - September 7 and September 9. September 8, to note, is already a Sunday.
The no production days from Maruti come as Indian auto sector continues to bear the heat of economic slowdown and weak consumer demand. Several automakers have downsized their production over the last few months due to falling sales in the Indian market. Maruti Suzuki has also been witnessing a slump in sales over the last few months.
To recall, last month, Maruti Suzuki reported a 32.7% YoY decline in total vehicle sales and slashed its production by nearly 34% in comparison to August 2018. This was the seventh consecutive production cut from the company. Also, the last time it reported positive sales was back in January 2019 when the numbers had increased by a meager 0.2%.
Going by specific models, last month's production of mini/compact cars like Alto, WagonR, Celerio, Ignis, Swift, Baleno, and Dzire stood at 80,909 units, which is 41,915 units lower than the previous year. Meanwhile, the production of utility vehicles like Vitara Brezza, Ertiga, and S-Cross was cut by approximately 34.85% to 15,099. Even Ciaz's production was trimmed from 6,149 units to 2,285 units in August.
Notably, owing to this slump in sales and increasing inventory, Maruti Suzuki even had to cut a few jobs. Reports indicate it ended the contract of as many as 3,000 temporary employees last month.
