BackNo chance of Hindustan Motors reopening: Bengal minister
Purnendu Bose says no chance of car maker reopening Uttarpara factory
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Kolkata: Following a meeting with the management of Hindustan Motors Ltd (HM) on Thursday, West Bengal’s labour minister Purnendu Bose said there was no chance of the car maker reopening its Uttarpara factory.
HM on Saturday halted production of the Ambassador car at its West Bengal unit, citing flagging sales of the antiquated car and mounting losses. The move put at risk at least 2,500 jobs. The company has not paid its workers for several months.
HM’s management said on Thursday that it will start paying back wages from Monday, but didn’t make any commitment on reopening the Uttarpara factory, India’s oldest passenger car manufacturing facility.
In a statement issued on Thursday, HM said its Uttarpara unit was “unviable and unsustainable" because of low productivity. Output per employee per year was one car at the Uttarpara factory as against the industry norm of 365, HM said.
After wallowing in losses for a decade, HM “is left with no disposable assets or investments which can be utilized to fund cash losses" of the Uttarpara unit, the car maker said, explaining why it was forced to halt operations.
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