Suzuki loses US$18m daily after plant shutdown
NEW DELHI, India (AP) — A factory owned by India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, has reopened after a riot by workers last month killed a company manager and injured dozens.
Around 500 police and security personnel stood guard as workers lined up earlier this week to enter Maruti’s plant in Manesar, a suburb of New Delhi. The shutdown was costing the company US$18 million a day and eroding market share. Maruti Suzuki, a subsidiary of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation, has two car assembly plants in India.
The reopened plant will produce 150 cars a day — less than 10 per cent of its capacity, officials said.
The July 18 riot was sparked by a labour dispute that ended with workers attacking managers and setting part of the plant on fire. The company fired 500 workers accused of spearheading the violence.
