Coronavirus impact: Hyundai, Toyota halt manufacturing operations
New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) Hyundai Motor and Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) have announced the suspension of manufacturing operations at their respective plants amid coronavirus outbreak.
Hyundai has decided to halt production at its Chennai plant while TKM has put brakes on manufacturing at its Bidadi facility in Karnataka.
“The company will be taking the preventive counter-measure of suspending its manufacturing operations at the Chennai facility from March 23 till further notice to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) – a global pandemic,” Hyundai Motor India said in a late-night statement on Sunday.
TKM said that keeping the safety of employees as the top priority, the company has voluntarily decided to temporarily halt production in its plant in Bidadi, Karnataka till further announcement.
The company has also expanded work from home for all its employees in its regional SBUs (Strategic Business Units) in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata & Bangalore, it added.
On Sunday, various automakers like Maruti Suzuki India, Honda Cars, Mahindra & Mahindra and Fiat announced a temporary halt in manufacturing operations at their respective facilities.
Two-wheeler makers Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India and Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd (SMIPL) have also suspended production at their manufacturing plants.
The suspension is in view of precautionary measures taken in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and in line with the state governments’ directives, the companies have announced.
As the virus cases climbed in the country, the central and state governments have decided to completely lock down 80 districts in 17 states from where COVID-19 cases have been reported while the states can extend the list of districts as they deem fit.
