Auto majors stall operations, IT biggies reach for business continuity plans

Auto majors, Hyundai and Ford have shut all operations for over three days. “We haven’t assessed the situation at our plants to evaluate losses if any,” a Ford spokesperson said. “Given the gravity of the situation, production is the least of our concerns now,” he said.

Major IT service giants, including Accenture, HCL Technologies, Infosys and Cognizant have activated their business continuity plan that ensures critical services are operational despite natural disasters.

“Our business operations are continuing through other offices in the region; our global delivery network and our people are working remotely from home,” an Accenture spokesperson said.

Many facilities of Cognizant in Chennai are operational and are working closely with network providers to ensure continued connectivity.

While some employees have traveled to Cognizant centers in other cities, some have volunteered to stay in Chennai offices to ensure continuity of critical projects.

A spokesperson said the company has made necessary arrangements for the employees in Chennai offices. IT major HCL Technologies said that its offices in Chennai were also shut on Thursday, but, “business continuity processes ensure continued delivery of customer projects.”

Airtel said that its services have been partially disrupted, but with 60 percent of its network still operational, its portable service solution Coverage on Wheels was trying to restore network is other areas.