Firm In India Blames "Cheap Chinese Supply" For Losses, Lays Off 2,000 Employees

A manufacturing firm in India has laid off more than 2,000 permanent employees after sustaining alleged losses for three consecutive years. The company executive claimed that a flood of low-cost Chinese imports is the main cause behind this difficult decision. The move, detailed in a viral Reddit post from the IndianWorkplace forum, sparked an online debate.

"We have 3 ink manufacturing plants, and because of extremely cheap Chinese supply, we've been unable to stay profitable. For the last 3 years, we've been running at a net loss," the post read.

Without revealing the name of the company, the man said that his father has been running the business for around 34 years, and he joined five years ago in the overseas team.

The management, however, decided to shut down two plants, which resulted in letting go of at least 1,934 permanent staff and 896 long-term contractual workers.

In the post, he stated that he works as the Chief of Operations, but in the edited version, he clarified that he has decided that he is no longer associated with the company and is now moving back to Germany.

See the post here:

Laying off over 2000 permenent employees
by u/Learningtosurvive21 in IndianWorkplace

According to a post, the management told staff it could no longer sustain operations after three years of mounting losses. The unit had been "bleeding" due to an inability to match the prices of cheaper Chinese products flooding the domestic market.

"This is an incredibly difficult situation because we simply can't sustain the employee costs anymore. I strongly pushed for a fair severance package," the man wrote, further adding that he proposed three months' pay, along with one additional month for every year served, capped at five months.

"However, today I received notice that the approved severance package is only 2 weeks' pay + 1 week for every year of service, capped at just 4 weeks," he informed.

"I was honestly very disappointed. What hurt even more was that my father and brother approved this without even discussing it with me."

"Is this kind of severance package common in Indian manufacturing industries? When we laid off our overseas support teams 2 years ago, we compensated them much more generously."

The post did not name the company or sector. However, the description mirrors challenges faced by manufacturers in steel, textiles, electronics and consumer goods.

"We also have a small IT team of 72 people, which is heavily downsizing to just 8 members," he added.

Social Media Reaction

With thousands of views and nearly 600 upvotes, the post gained significant traction.

"Damn man, if an org this big is wrapping up ops no wonder production is in total collapse. Irrespective, thanks for the jobs you had created in the country till now, I hope you bounce back," one user wrote in the comment section.

"Are these people blue/grey collar workers? If yes, maybe we can hire a few people in Hyderabad if they're willing to relocate," another user offered to help.

"My father owns a business and although it's not at the scale so large like yours I can totally understand the market pressure and how it has affected the manufacturing industry. Like BAMM!" a third user wrote.