According to the ET report, JCB India, India’s largest construction equipment major has laid off almost 400 permanent employees as part of its rationalization of workforce citing falling business volumes as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company said in a statement, “The retrenchment includes 80 to 90 persons ranging from a DGM till Vice President level over the last fortnight. JCB India has a total workforce strength of 8000 people, which includes 4000 permanent employees…The employment of a sizable number of contractual and temporary workers has also been discontinued. The contractual and temporary workforce fluctuates with demand”
Employees who have been laid off said that they have been given a 6 month notice period (pay-outs) with the reason given the current business slowdown and that their positions have become redundant. ” We have tried our best to minimize the impact of this transition through a special severance package. This includes continuity of extended medical insurance and outplacement services to help them find alternative careers, among other benefits, ” said the company.
While confirming the development, the company in an email response mentioned that there was around 80% decline in demand for products in May and June as compared to the same period last year with capacities currently at 20%.
Subir Kumar Chowdhury, MD, JCB India said, “After having taken a re-look at all our expenses and allocations, unfortunately, we have also had to take the difficult and painful decision of re-organizing our staff strength across levels to tide over this extraordinary situation to ensure safeguarding the organization for the coming decades,”
Thus, it was critical for us to realign our business. Apart from a massive organization-wide cost reduction programme, all new product launches have been delayed and new programmes been halted, Chowdhury added.
Even at the JCB Group level in the United Kingdom, where we are headquartered, almost 950 job losses have been announced, Chowdhury said
JCB Employees in India are still hoping that good sense prevails and the mass retrenchment of the company is stopped for it to be in the public eye, albeit for the right reason.
