Maruti to decide on restarting Manesar plant

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SME Times News Bureau | 13 Aug, 2012
The country's major carmaker Maruti Suzuki is expected to partially restore production at its Manesar facility within the next 10 days. An important exercise to this effect will to take place Monday, company sources said.

An announcement is expected during a high-level meeting between the Maruti Suzuki management and the Haryana government.

The plant, which has two production lines assembling some 1,200 cars a day, was shut following the July 18 violence that claimed the life of Maruti's senior executive Awanish Kumar Dev and left over 100 others injured. Maruti declared a lockout in the plant July 21.

The carmaker will first start Plant B, which currently makes the Maruti Suzuki Swift model and is expected to bring in some experienced workers from its Gurgaon plant.

"Plant B has been selected to run first because it is highly automated and will need less workers to begin operations. Resuming production of Swift and then Dzire will help the company meet the high demand. This plant can produce more than 400 cars per day and needs nearly 125 workers. Only the general shift will be functioning," said a Maruti official, who did not wish to be named.

"We hope to make an announcement on resuming production at Manesar on Monday (August 13). After the decision, component vendors will need at least a week to start production and supply," he added.

The production halt has stretched waiting periods on both Swift and Dzire models to over six months.

A Maruti Suzuki spokesperson said, "On Monday, the company is also expected to get the report of the special investigation team on the July 18 violence. We will definitely review the investigation report and then be able to announce to restart the plant."

A special investigation team of Haryana Police is probing the July 18 violence at the Manesar plant. Till now, it has arrested 134 workers, including 12 office-bearers of the workers' union.