Honda Cars India (HCIL) has closed down its plant at Greater Noida considering the uncertainty prevailing in the market. In order to sustain its operations, HCIL has opted for a consolidation of its manufacturing operations by making its plant in Tapukara, Rajasthan a unified manufacturing facility for vehicles and components. Almost 1,300 staff members have opted for the voluntary retirement scheme, which the Company had started offering at the beginning of this year. American talent outsourcing and placement firm, Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH) was employed to help employees make a smooth career transition.
In September and October also, a couple of rounds of VRS settlements were done. While 950 employees (from the assembly line) availed of the relocation scheme offered by HCIL, almost 400 general employees from its 1,500-strong workforce opted to take the ‘healthy compensations’ doled out.
The VRS was offered on the basis of the employees’ tenure. Employees who had served for at least five years and were at least 40 years of age were eligible.
About 20 of its employees from the R&D, vehicle testing and homologation teams have been relocated to the nodal vehicle testing and certification body, iCAT, at Manesar. While these employees will remain on HCIL’s payroll, they will continue to work from the testing centre at Manesar, Haryana.
The Company has ceased production at its 100,000-unit Greater Noida plant, due to the slump in demand over the last few years and the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.
