Jaguar Land Rover says prepared if DHL workers go on strike
Del Sehmar, Head of PR & Communications for JLR India told reporters that the company was looking at minimizing loss of production if any, if the workers at DHL, its logistics partner, do go on a strike.
July 09, 2013 / 09:13 AM IST
Nachiket Kelkar
moneycontrol.com
Tata Motors owned British luxury arm Jaguar Land Rover says it has a plan to minimize any impact on its operations in case workers at its logistics partner DHL go on a strike.Workers at delivery group DHL, which supply (deliver parts) JLR plants in the UK, last week voted to go on a strike demanding a pay hike and terms and conditions similar to that of JLR staff.Del Sehmar, Head of PR & Communications for JLR India told reporters that the company was looking at minimizing loss of production if any, if the workers at DHL do go on a strike."That potential strike action is related to employees not employed by JLR. They are DHL employees...We are closely monitoring the situation and we hope it will resolve itself in the near future. In terms of potential disruption of production, clearly we are preparing for that and have a plan in place should that situation arise," Sehmar told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of its F-Type two-seater sports car in India on Monday.He, however, refused to divulge the details as to what the plan actually was.Meanwhile, the F-Type sports car launched in India starts at a price of Rs 1.37 crore for the S model and Rs 1.61 crore for the V8S, ex-showroom, Mumbai (pre-octroi).The car will be available in two engine variants - 3 litre V6 supercharged petrol and 5 litre V8 supercharged petrol.The V8S has a top speed of 300 km/hr and can go from 0 to 100 km/hr in 4.3 seconds, Jaguar says. The V6 will touch 100 km/hr in 4.9 seconds.Although the overall auto industry is seeing sluggish growth in India, JLR says its growth has been strong. Jaguar India sales in the first quarter of the current financial year have increased 68 percent, helped by the locally assembled XF 2.2 litre diesel model1, the company said."Auto Industry in India is not doing too great overall. However, for Jaguar specifically, we continue to have a fantastic run. Last year, Jaguar with another brand, were the only two luxury brands, which actually grew at a very very healthy pace. We continue to do that, in spite of the difficulties that we see ahead. So, we are pretty positive that we will sustain our growth rates," said Rohit Suri, VP, Jaguar & Land Rover India.Tata Motors shares were down 2.8 percent in afternoon trade on Monday. The stock had hit a low of Rs 282.30 earlier in the day as investors were concerned that Jaguar Land Rover sales could get impacted a lot if the workers at DHL went on strike. JLR contributes to the majority of profit and revenue for Tata Motors. Discover the latest business news, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
