Auto cos fear supply chain disruptions

Automakers and component suppliers with facilities in Maharashtra haven’t seen any impact yet due to the partial lockdowns and night curfews imposed by the government in areas witnessing increasing Covid-19 cases, but they are watching the situation, industry insiders said.Companies such as Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Endurance Technologies and Flash Industries have manufacturing facilities in places that are facing fresh restrictions. The companies are currently analysing the situation before taking any decision on production cuts or working on fewer shifts, they said.There is, of course, an impending worry among automakers of a supply-chain disruption which could create further issues even as they are facing a shortage of semiconductors and steel, as well as increasing input cost. 81503256Rajeshwar Tripathi, chief HR officer at Mahindra, said: “There’s no adverse impact of any kind on production or supply chain due to Covid, as of now. On the supply-chain front, we continue to be watchful.” Mahindra has four plants in Maharashtra, at Nashik, Nagpur, Chakan and Kandivili in Mumbai. “At this stage, there is no impact on our operations in Pune,” said a Tata Motors spokesperson. “The administration has always been a great supporter in the past when the overnight curfew was imposed. Industries have been allowed to operate with a letter of authority to each employee, following all necessary Covid-19 guidelines protocols.”The HR head of a company, who didn’t want to be named, said there were a few sporadic Covid cases in some of the auto plants. “However, the plant authorities are isolating such cases before the infection spreads to other workers,” he said. Component makers said while there would be no immediate production cuts, they would be closely monitoring the situation.Anurang Jain, managing director of auto component maker Endurance Technologies, said: “Production is going on as per schedule with enough precautions taken.” Sanjeev Vasdev, MD of Flash Electronics, also said there was no impact on industry production. VW and Mercedes-Benz, which have plants in the Pune belt, said they are not seeing any disruptions in production.Pune-based trade union leader Dilip Pawar, who represents workers at companies including Bajaj Auto, VW, General Motors and Mahindra in the Pune-Chakan belt, said he was not expecting any immediate restrictions as the companies follow social distance and Covid-19 protocols.“In case the government decides for a lockdown, we expect them to provide an exception to the manufacturing industry, as was done during ‘Unlock 1.0’,” said a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson.

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