Mahindra lays off more than half of North American employees
According to foreign media reports, two people familiar with the matter disclosed that due to the COVID-19 epidemic and ongoing legal disputes, the North American division of Indian automaker Mahindra has laid off more than half of its employees.
(Image source: Mahindra)
Currently, the company’s specific numbers of layoffs are not known, but the company’s official website shows that at the beginning of 2020, the number of North American employees exceeded 500. However, a source said that since mid-2020, as part of the company's restructuring plan, 'hundreds of employees' have been fired, and the number of layoffs accounted for one-third of the total staffing of Mahindra North America (MANA). two. The abolished positions include engineers and manufacturing positions at the Roxor plant in Detroit to produce off-road models, as well as sales directors.
The layoffs coincided with Mahindra's assessment of its business. The company hopes to save capital and only keep those businesses that can be profitable or have profit potential.
MANA stated in a statement that due to the epidemic and the International Trade Commission's lawsuit (which caused the suspension of Roxor's business in August last year), the company has given some employees unpaid leave and fired For some employees, the company did not disclose specific figures.
Ma Hinda and FCA are engaged in a protracted legal battle due to an intellectual property infringement case that prevented Mahinda from selling its Roxor cars in the United States. The company said: 'This forced us to stop production and fired the manufacturing team, as well as some additional personnel in several functional departments, including the Roxor sales team.'
However, the company won a favorable judgment in its lawsuit with FCA last month, paving the way for it to sell Roxor in the United States again. The company said in a statement that it expects to recall a large number of employees.
A spokesperson for Mahindra Group from India stated that the company will firmly implement capital allocation regulations and will focus on financial returns to promote the growth and continuous improvement of international subsidiaries.
Since the announcement of the business evaluation in June last year, Mahindra’s stock price has risen by more than 60%, and the company’s current market value exceeds US$12.6 billion. The company plans to focus on the production of SUVs and electric vehicles in India, its core market. In the Indian market, Mahindra has lost a favorable position in the competition with Tata Motors and Kia Motors.
