Maruti Suzuki has appointed a new chief for its Manesar plant and moved out several other managers, four months after it paid off union leaders to end a crippling strike that severely dented production and reduced profits.
The Economic Times of India (ETI) said Maruti, whose market share dropped below 40% for the first time in its 29-year existence, is also beginning talks to revise wages, taking employee-friendly steps and opening new channels of communication to reach out to its workers.
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The company named Vikram Khazanchi to head the 500,000 capacity twin plants at Manesar, which roll out the higher-margin cars like Swift, A-Star and DZire sedan. He replaces LK Jain, who will oversee the upcoming engine and casting facility in Gurgaon that will take care of company’s strategic focus on developing new engines and other technologies.
Maruti has also moved out deputy production manager Mukesh Gupta and deputy personnel manager (HR) Manoj Jaiswal along with half a dozen other executives. Gupta will head the company’s new training academy to help employees develop new skill sets, ETI said.
A company spokesman told ETI these transfers and job rotations were routine, adding that they were based on the company’s business needs, new projects and succession planning.
But ETI noted the four-month strike last year at Manesar virtually crippled Maruti’s Indian operations, cutting production by 100,000 units and driving down profits 39% in the first nine month of the current fiscal year. Parent Suzuki Motor Corp’s overseas’ production also registered a drop for the first time in 11 years.
ETI said Maruti is now also undertaking several measures to prevent any confrontation with employees at the facility. These organisational changes come after a golden handshake where over a dozen employees were given a severance package of at least INR1.6m each that allowed Maruti to weed out all union activity at Manesar.
Maruti has increased the proportion of permanent employees, improved overtime payouts and introduced longer breaks for shop floor workers. It has also reinforced safety measures and improved transport facilities at Manesar. It is forming a new workers’ union that will soon be registered with the Haryana Labour Department.
Talks to revise wages, a three yearly exercise at Maruti, are also under way and the new accord will be implemented from April. Keen to retake its lost market share, the company has established new communication and interactive channels with its workers.
“There are many changes in the set-up as of now and workers are more relaxed on the shop floor. We have been assured of a union along with new committees to address our grievances within the plant,” a Maruti worker, requesting anonymity, told Economic Times of India.
