NEW DELHI: It may be laying off factory workers in its troubled home market US, but General Motors will be hiring new workers in India at its new plant at Talegaon in Maharashtra as the company expands .
"Recruitment is on at full swing in India and we plan to hire as many as 500 new workers for our Talegaon plant in the coming months," GM India president and MD Karl Slym told TOI.
The company, that has its first plant at Halol in Gujarat, started production at Talegaon only in September and is now ramping up output from the new factory to produce new models as well as increase production of its mini car `Spark'. Slym said the new workers would be recruited for the car plant at Talegaon and also for the company's upcoming powertrain facility in the same area. "We have already hired 700 workers at the factory," he said, adding that the new recruits would be full-time workers.
The hiring plans in India come in stark contrast to the grim situation that the world's largest automaker faces in the US, where a huge reversal in sales and mounting losses has brought it to the brink of bankruptcy. The company said earlier this week that it plans to lay off a fresh 1,900 factory workers at its factories in North America to cut expenses in order to deal with a worsening cash crisis. The new layoffs would be in addition to the 3,600 factory layoffs announced last week.
Slym downplayed any major negative effect on the company's India subsidiary due to the worsening conditions in the US. "Operationally, we are fully capable of looking after ourselves," he said, pointing out that a majority of the $1 billion investments announced for India had already been made.
"We are self sufficient here and all our plans are intact and on course," he said. P Balendran, director and VP at GM India, said the company was making operating profits since 2004. "We are a debt free company and most of our expansion plans are being met through internal accruals," he said.
Slym said the company would be driving in two new cars next year. While one would be the Cruze sedan that would compete with models like Honda Civic, the other will be a new mini car. "India is an emerging market, which to a certain degree is immune to the current downturn. We have a strategic plan for the market," he said, adding that the company continues to hold on to its target of a 10% market-share by 2010.
And as the company eyes a bigger play in India, it is expanding its marketing and service network in the market. It announced a tie-up with Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) for providing after sales service at select workshops of the state-run oil firm. By this year-end, the company plans to begin services at 15 such `V Care' branded outlets and expand this to 35 next year.
Slym said GM also plans to double component sourcing from India to $1 billion by 2010. GM sourced about $300 million in auto parts in 2007, which is expected to increase to half a billion dollars this year, he said. The company buys auto parts such as casting and machining parts from more than 50 suppliers in India.
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