Hinduja flagship firm Ashok Leyland today announced a voluntary retirement scheme for its employees as part of plans to cut manpower costs in the wake of continued slowdown.
“While the company maintained market share in the last quarter, volume pressures continue and we need to take some definite steps to manage the slowdown. The VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) package will be fair and would provide adequate compensation to any employee who opts for it,” Ashok Leyland Managing Director Vinod K Dasari said in a statement.
The company, however, did not specify the terms and conditions and the timeline of the VRS.
It said the VRS is conceived as a response to the continuing slowdown and the scheme aims to reduce manpower costs and align fixed costs to reduced activity levels.
In the second quarter ended September 30, the company had reported a standalone net loss of Rs 25.05 crore as against a standalone net profit of Rs 142.59 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
Its net sales during the quarter had also decreased to Rs 2,498.28 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, from Rs 3,245.87 crore in the year-ago period.
For the six months ended September 30, the company registered a net loss of Rs 166.80 crore as against a net profit of Rs 209.53 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.
Ashok Leyland had reported 15 per cent decline in sales at 6,803 units for October 2013 as compared to 7,997 units in same month last year.