Hero MotoCorp has decided to temporarily halt operations at its manufacturing facilities across the country due to escalating Covid cases. Each plant will remain shut in a staggered manner for four days between April 22 and May 1, and the company will utilise this time to carry out maintenance work at its manufacturing plants. All plants will resume normal operations after the shutdown period.
Hero MotoCorp is the first major manufacturer to announce a temporary suspension of production this year even as the government has maintained that there will not be a nationwide lockdown and Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted in his nationwide address on April 21 that lockdowns should only be the last resort.
"In keeping with its commitment to the safety and welfare of its people, Hero MotoCorp has decided to proactively halt operations temporarily at all of its manufacturing facilities across the country, including its GPC, in view of ongoing escalation in the spread of Covid-19 across the country," the the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges.
The company's corporate offices have already been in work-from-home (WFH) mode and only a limited number of staff members visit offices on rotation basis.
Hero MotoCorp said the shutdown will not impact the company's ability to meet demand, which has been impacted due to localised shutdowns in many states and assured that the production loss will be compensated during the remaining quarter.
Hero MotoCorp has six manufacturing plants located at Haridwar, Dharuhera, Gurgaon, Neemrana, Vadodara and Chittoor, with a total manufacturing capacity of 11.6 million units.
It may be recalled that auto companies had recorded zero sales during the April / May period last year due to closure of factories in wake of the six-week nationwide lockdown.
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