Renault-Nissan alliance is realigning jobs and output at the Oragadam facility, near Chennai. Around 1,000 temporary workers may be axed in response to piling inventory at the factory and within dealerships.
A report in Reuters says that the production on both the assembly lines will be reduced to 20 cars per hour from the existing 40 cars per hour. While the permanent staff will be unaffected, the impact will be on the contract workers, apprentice and trainees. Currently, close to 8,000 employees report to the facility.
The last couple of months have been severe for the Franco-Japanese alliance. Launch of the Hyundai Creta and Maruti S-Cross have impacted sales of the Renault Duster, Lodgy and the Nissan Terrano. All the three models have witnessed close to 50 per cent dip in sales in July. Renault will be hoping for better results with their new compact hatchback, the Kwid. The hatchback will carry a sub-Rs 4 lakh price tag to take on the Maruti Alto K10 and Hyundai i10.
Renault-Nissan has invested Rs. 4,500 crore on the plant, which has an installed annual capacity of 4,80,000 units and exports to over 100 countries, making Nissan the third largest exporter of cars.
