The automobile sector is on a rollercoaster of hardships and is not showing any signs of its ride upwards yet. The sales have diminished, dealerships have had to be shut down, and employment is in dire straits.
Tata Motors, Maruti, Honda are some leading companies in this sector, and yet, they have had to shut down productions with about cars worth Rs 35000 crores lying unsold. 3.5 lakh Indians have lost their jobs, and 10 lakh Indians are looking at unemployment as car sales decline.
As per reports, the automobile industry is estimated of 5 lakh more job losses in the next quarter.
On the upside, organizations are looking for employees with a select set of skills, and there is news that employment for these employees will be boosted by the time 2020 is here. On the other hand, the employees of Ashok Leyland have created quite a stir by going on strike and demanding pay raises, in a field where people are being fired left, right and centre.
Read on to know more!
Tech & Digital Will Drive Job Creation In Auto Sector
Job requirement is not quite diminishing, it is just shifting from one platform to another. Organizations will now move on from mechanical and automobile engineers to technologists, data scientists and analysts, and electric and electronic engineers.
Big names such as Maruti Suzuki, Nissan Motor Corporation, Hero MotoCorp, Hyundai, are amongst those looking to hire employees with advanced digital skills.
As per V Sumantran, Chairman of Celeris Technologies, who once was a Vice Chairman at Ashok Leyland, remarked that urbanisation, sustainability and digitisation are now needed in the automobile field.
This is due to the increased demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Analytics for marketing, design and development of products, which creates a requirement for engineers from software, electronics or electrical field. Data scientists will be in demand, with engineers skilled at both science and management.
Ashok Leyland Start Staff Separation; Employees On Strike When Employment is Low
While people are being fired from big automobile companies such as Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra, employees of Ashok Leyland are instead going on strikes and demanding pay hikes. Talk about irony!
About 1800 employees in the Ennore, Chennai plant of Ashok Leyland are on strike, and have demanded a 10 per cent hike in bonuses. The company’s offer of a 5 per cent rise has been rejected by the employees.
Whereas, Ashok Leyland has introduced Voluntary Retirement Schemes and Employee Separation Schemes for executive-level employees for cost-cutting purposes. All permanent executives of Ashok Leyland, who are of 40 plus age or have served the company for at least 10 years are eligible for these schemes. The schemes are to come into effect from August 14 to August 31.