India Yamaha Motor (IYM) is going to suspend production at two of its two-wheeler plants in the country, from May 15-31. Amidst the rising number of COVID cases in the country, keeping the safety of the employees in mind, operations are going to be stalled at the plants in Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu) and Surajpur (Uttar Pradesh) for about two weeks.
A final decision on resumption of production in June will only be taken based on the COVID situation at the time.
The Company has taken this decision to ensure that its workforce remains safe and protected. Till date no employee has tested positive. The Company intends to work closely with its dealers and suppliers to reduce the impact of the suspension of operations and optimise stock. The staff at the corporate office and other regional offices will continue with the work-from-home arrangement till further notice.
Last year, the Company had to ask some of its employees to leave across various divisions, when it was facing low production. About 200 employees were reportedly laid off in its production, procurement, sales and marketing divisions.
Last year, it had also reportedly restructured its production process at the Surajpur plant, Greater Noida. Some of its quality talent were offered the option of a transfer from the Surajpur plant to the Chennai plant.
Many other automakers have suspended production recently in view of the raging second wave of the pandemic. Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki India, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Honda Cars have already halted production temporarily, given the mobility restrictions across the country.
