Mahindra to advance plant maintenance to May instead of June

Mahindra & Mahindra is the latest Indian automaker to implement a plant shutdown operation, keeping in mind the second wave of Covid-19 infections in the country.

The automaker has announced a scheduled maintenance shutdown in its automotive manufacturing plants in May 2021. In a regulatory filing, the company said: “Due to the evolving Covid situation in the country, the company has scaled up its efforts to ensure health and safety of its employees, associates and supporting ecosystem. Accordingly, the company has decided to pre-pone the scheduled maintenance of four working days, in each of its Automotive Division Manufacturing Plants, to the month of May 2021, in a staggered manner. This was originally scheduled for June 2021. The company continues to work closely with its Dealers and Suppliers to minimise the impact of disruption in operations due to localized lockdown restrictions in various parts of the country.”

Mahindra & Mahindra has three plants in Maharashtra (Kandivli, Nashik and Chakan) and one each in Uttarakhand (Haridwar) and Telangana (Zaheerabad) while Mahindra Electric Mobility (recently absorbed into M&M) has its facility in Bangalore, Karnataka.

Mahindra & Mahindra joins a number of other automakers in India which have suspended manufacturing activities and advanced maintenance schedules. These include Maruti Suzuki India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, MG Motor India, Ashok Leyland, Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India and JCB India have also announced plant shutdowns for varying durations.