Economic slowdown: Auto companies in India cut more jobs, halt production

Agencies
August 23, 2019

New Delhi, Aug 23: With India’s auto sales declining for the ninth straight month in July, more automotive manufacturers are laying off workers and temporarily halting production to keep costs in check, according to sources and documents seen by Reuters.

Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor are the latest in a string of companies to halt production at plants to combat slumping sales, according to company memos to employees, reviewed by Reuters.

Passenger vehicle sales in July fell at the fastest pace in nearly two decades. The sales declines have triggered major job cuts in India’s auto sector, with many companies forced to shut down factories for days and axe shifts.

Sources have told Reuters that even more companies have now begun to lay off temporary workers as the slowdown worsens.

Denso Corp’s India unit, which makes powertrain and air-conditioning systems for cars, has laid off about 350 temporary workers at its Manesar plant in north India, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Bellsonica, which is part-owned by India’s biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki and makes fuel tanks and brake pads, has also let more than 350 workers go in Manesar, two sources said.

Denso did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bellsonica could not immediately be reached.

Reuters earlier this month reported automakers, component manufacturers and dealers had already cut 350,000 jobs.

In a meeting with India’s finance ministry on Aug. 7, industry executives asked for tax cuts, and easier access to finance for dealers and buyers, in an effort to revive sales.

Toyota, in a notice dated August 13, told its workers the company would halt production at its plants in Bengaluru in southern India on August 16 and 17 “due to low market demand of vehicles” and high stock of about 7,000 vehicles.

N Raja, deputy managing director, at Toyota’s India unit, told Reuters that while the company had a flexible production system it had to resort to five no-production days in August to prevent the build up of stock.

“The industry is deeply concerned with the reality of poor customer sentiment faced by the sector,” said Raja, adding he hoped the government would step in to support the industry.

Hyundai, in a memo on August 9, also said it would halt production for several days in August across various departments including the body shop and paint shop as well as its engine and transmission plants.

A Hyundai Motor India spokesman said the company expected sales to pick up in the festive season starting next month.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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Hassan: Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda has announced that his son, former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will contest from state's Mandya parliamentary seat as NDA candidate.

Deve Gowda told reporters on Tuesday that the decision to field Kumaraswamy, who is also JD(S) state president, in Lok Sabha polls from the Mandya seat was taken amid mounting public demand. "People are demanding that Kumaraswamy should contest from Mandya. In the core committee meeting as well, all members suggested that he should contest from Mandya," Deve Gowda said.

The former Chief Minister's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy had lost to independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The JD(S) supremo further said that the name of senior leader Mallesh Babu has been finalised from the Kolar seat.

Deve Gowda's grandson and former Karnataka Minister H. D. Revanna's son sitting JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna will be contesting as the NDA candidate from the Hassan seat.

Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy in a media briefing indicated that he would contest from Mandya amid mounting public pressure on him.

Congress has fielded Venkatarame Gowda popularly known as ‘Star Chandru’ from the Mandya seat dominated by Vokkaligas. Star Chandru is a close associate of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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At least seven people have been killed when Israeli warplanes bombed an emergency center in southern Lebanon near the border with the 1948 Israeli-occupied territories with air-to-surface missiles, according to Lebanese security sources.

Two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity said early on Wednesday that the strike targeted the Islamic Group’s emergency and relief center in Lebanon’s southern village of Habbariyeh.

Jamaa Islamiya, a Lebanese group closely linked to the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, said in a statement that “a number” of people had been killed, and called the strike a “heinous crime.”

An official from the group said “seven rescuers” were killed in the aerial assault.

Another Jamaa Islamiya official, also requesting anonymity, said a dozen medical staff were in the emergency center at the time of the strike, adding that bodies were being pulled from the rubble.

Lebanese lawmaker Hassan Mrad said “the Israeli aggression on Habbariyeh adds to the long list of Israeli crimes.”

Israel has been launching air strikes against Lebanon since the beginning of its onslaught against the Gaza Strip in early October.

An Israeli strike knocked down part of a building in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh on February 14, killing seven members of the same family, including a child, Lebanon’s official National News Agency said. A boy initially reported missing was found alive under the rubble.

In a separate Israeli attack, a woman and her two children were killed in the village of as-Sawana in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli regime launched its devastating hostilities in the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the territory’s Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.

Israel's raids have resulted in retaliatory strikes from Hezbollah in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

The movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory operations as long as the Tel Aviv regime continues its onslaught on Gaza.

The Israeli campaign in Gaza has killed at least 32,414 people, most of them women and children. Another 74,787 individuals have also been wounded.

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News Network
March 26,2024

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Mangaluru: Officials from Cyber Economic and Narcotics Crime Police Station in Mangaluru have arrested a man for allegedly engaging in an online fraud by deceiving a person on the pretext of offering a part-time job. The arrested is Saddam Gauri alias Bavuri, 30, from Rajasthan.

City police commissioner Anupam Agrawal said the CEN police received a complaint regarding an online scam related to a part-time job offer.

Police registered a case under sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act, along with IPC Section 420. The complainant had received a link via WhatsApp from an unknown number, purportedly offering a part-time job opportunity.

Upon clicking the link, the complainant was instructed to complete certain tasks to earn money. However, during the process, the complainant incurred a loss of Rs 1.1 lakh.

Following an investigation into the matter, the CEN police successfully arrested the suspect and presented him before the court. In the course of arrest, police seized two mobile phones, eight debit cards, four bank cheque books, Aadhaar card, PAN card, and other relevant documents from the accused.

The arrest was made possible through the efforts of CEN station inspector Shyam Sundar and his team, under the guidance of City Crime Records Bureau (CCRB) ACP Ravish Nayak and DCP Siddharth Goyal.

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