Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, and the world's biggest manufacturer by volume, has decided to temporarily halt manufacturing operations in view of the escalating COVID-19 situation in India. In a press statement, Hero MotoCorp said that the company has decided to proactively halt operations temporarily at all of its manufacturing facilities across the country, including its Global Parts Centre (GPC). The announcement comes even as the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit India hard, with India now having more than 20 lakh officially recorded active cases of COVID-19.
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Manufacturing operations will be halted temporarily
Hero MotoCorp said the company will utilise these shut-down days to carry out necessary maintenance work in the manufacturing plants. The shutdown will not impact the company's ability to meet the demand, which has been impacted due to localised shut-downs in many states and production loss will be compensated during the remainder of the quarter, the company said in the statement.
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All plants will resume normal operations post this short shutdown period, Hero MotoCorp said. Each plant and GPC will remain shut for four days, in a staggered manner between April 22 and May 1, depending on the local scenario, the statement added. All corporate offices of the company are already in Work from Home (WFH) mode and very limited employees are in offices on rotation basis for continuity of essential services.
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A six-week lockdown last year led to closed factories and zero sales for the auto industry in 2020. Even as the auto industry was quick to get back on the path to recovery, with most brands clawing back sales numbers, the latest restrictions, and lockdowns across several states will likely hit the auto industry yet again, as the Indian economy. Observers say that Q4 sales results of FY 21 will be better than expected, but the second wave may hit the industry.
