Ashok Leyland Declares "Non-Working Days" Citing Weak Demand, Shares Fall 3%

Ashok Leyland shares fell nearly 3 per cent on Monday, a day after the auto maker said it would suspend operations at its various plants this month due to “weak demand” for its products. In a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Sunday, commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland shared details of a total 59 “non-working days” at its plants located in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand. The development comes at a time when the country's auto sector is dealing with a slump in sales and lakhs of estimated job cuts. 

Ashok Leyland's various plants in Tamil Nadu will remain shut for a total of 21 days, according to the company's statement. The Alwar plant in Rajasthan and the Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand will have 10 and 18 non-working days respectively, it said.

Shares in Ashok Leyland fell as much as 2.82 per cent to Rs 62.10 apiece on the BSE on Monday. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Ashok Leyland shares fell 2.97 per cent to an intraday low of Rs 62.00, as against their previous close of Rs 63.90 apiece.

At 12:45 pm, Ashok Leyland shares traded 1.72 per cent lower at Rs 62.80 apiece on the bourse, underperforming the benchmark Sensex index which was up 0.58 per cent. 

Last Friday, sources had said citing a communication from Ashok Leyland to its workers that the company had declared five non-working days at its plant in Chennai starting from the same day. 

Sluggishness and contraction in the commercial vehicle market had led to the move by Ashok Leyland, they had said.