COVID-19 fear: Hero MotoCorp, Fiat halts production till 31st March
New Delhi: The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp on sunday said it has suspended production at all its sites across the globe until March 31, 2020 in order to safeguard its employees against COVID-19.
Besides, automaker Fiat has also suspended manufacturing operations in the country till the end of this month to check the spread of the contagious disease.
"With the safety and wellbeing of its employees as top priority in view of the escalating COVID-19 situation, the company has decided to halt operations at all its global manufacturing facilities – including in India, Colombia and Bangladesh - and the Global Parts Centre (GPC) at Neemrana with immediate effect until March 31, 2020," Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.
Employees at all the other functions and locations including the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) at Jaipur in Rajasthan will continue to work from home, except for those whose physical presence is necessary to run the day-to-day essential services, it added.
Similarly, automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) together with Fiat India Automobiles Private Limited (FIAPL), FCA's joint venture manufacturing facility in Ranjangaon, said that it will suspend manufacturing till March 31, 2020 to protect the health and safety of employees.
"The temporary suspension is in response to the increasing prevalence of positive COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra and particularly in Pune," the company said.
The two-wheeler major said it has been proactively monitoring the situation since the early stages of the breakout of COVID-19, and had rolled-out a slew of measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its employees and also, thereby to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.
