Auto Component Makers Declare Non-Working Days Amid Slowdown

In Chennai, two auto component majors from the TVS group - Lucas TVS and Sundaram Clayton - have become the latest victims of the auto sector slowdown.

On Thursday, auto electrical major Lucas TVS announced three non-working days till August 17 across all divisions in its Chennai plant except wipers, ABS and CCD. In a circular to its employees, the company said: "The situation is being monitored. Employees will be intimated when the business climate gets stable. We shall decide later on making up these non-working days."

The 57-year-old company supplies components to 90 per cent of automobile manufacturers in India. The Chennai plant employs around 3,000 people and for the last one month, many say most employees have worked for just four days a week.

One employee having worked for 15 years with Lucas TVS told NDTV: "We never had this situation, not even when workers went on strike. So far our salary hasn't been cut. But many companies are laying off people and I am worried. What will happen to my family?"

Lucas TVS did not divulge details on the quantum of its losses and the situation in its other six plants across the country.

Sundaram Clayton, a manufacturer and supplier of aluminium die-caste products to domestic and global automobile manufacturers, has declared non-working days on August 16 and 17 in its factory at Padi, Chennai.

The company said: "This is due to business slowdown across sectors."

Officials didn't share any further information on the slump and its impact on employees. Sundaram Clayton has five plants in the country and abroad.

Last week, an estimated 3.5 lakh people were estimated to have lost their jobs due to the slowdown in the auto sector.

Smaller auto component hub players like Roy have cut down operations by 70 per cent due to lack of demand. He has laid off three of his 13 workers.

AN Sujeesh, president, Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers' Association, told NDTV, "The future looks very bleak and it may take a long time. We need reduction of GST from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, and for smaller players from 18 per cent to 5 per cent. We've communicated the crisis to several government agencies. Hope they respond fast."

The crisis now has turned into a political rallying call for the opposition. DMK Chief MK Stalin said it is time the government "woke up and addressed the crisis".

DMK Spokesperson A Saravanan said: "With so many carmakers and auto component manufacturers around Chennai, Tamil Nadu will bear the brunt of the slowdown of the auto sector. When factories work only on specific days in a week workers won't get salary on other days workers will directly."