India

Goodbye India: Ford Dealers, Employees Left In The Lurch

By
OB Bureau

New Delhi: Ford India’s unexpected announcement to shut operations in India has left dealers and their employees a distressed lot.

Take the case of, for instance, the automaker’s oldest dealership of Harpreet Ford in Delhi’s Moti Nagar area.

There are only a few salesmen around, and there is no rush to attend to anyone walking through the door unlike in the past.

Jitender Sadana, a sales representative at the dealership, said some of his colleagues were talking to the HR about their future while others have managed to line up interviews at other places.

“People have families to feed and so they are anxious,” Jitender was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

On his part, Executive Director of Harpreet Ford Sunil Tandon said there will be layoffs. At the same time, Tandon said they will try to absorb as many staffers as possible in the multiple dealership outlets they have with other carmakers.

He, however, admitted that the going will be tough for smaller dealerships.

According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), a body representing 15,000 automobile dealers, there are around 170 Ford dealers in India with 391 outlets.

As a result, Ford’s decision to close shop in the country will impact over 40,000 dealership employees. That is 10 times the number (approximately 4,000 Ford India factory employees) that the US automaker says will be hit by shutting down of its manufacturing plants in India.

FADA CEO Saharsh Damani said the body is already flooded with distress calls from worried dealers.

“This will impact dealers, dealership employees and their families. Outside auto retail, component manufacturers who supply Ford in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu will feel the impact,” Damani told The Indian Express.

Damani also criticised Ford’s announcement that the company will continue service support. “Once you stop India operations, then there is a big question mark. Companies leaving India say such things, but it does not work in the long run because there are spare parts issues, manpower issues, and then many dealers will not want to continue,” he added.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

Man Stabs Brother-In-Law To Death In Odisha’s Sundargarh

Sundargarh: Police arrested a man for allegedly killing his brother-in-law for torturing his sister in…

March 28, 2024

Heavyweight Collaboration: In A First, Reliance Picks Up 26% Stake In Adani Power Project

Mumbai: This is what you call a heavyweight collaboration. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration between rival…

March 28, 2024

PDS Queues Longer, Market Price Of Rice Higher As Kashmir Ditches Paddy For Apple Crop, Urbanisation

Mohammad Aatif Ammad Kanth Anantnag (Jammu & Kashmir): On a chilly winter morning, Irshad Bhat…

March 28, 2024

Odisha Polls: Former Chitrakonda MLA Dambaru Sisa Resigns From BJD

Bhubaneswar: The former MLA of BJD from Chitrakonda in Odisha's Malkangiri district, Dambaru Sisa, on…

March 28, 2024

LS Polls: JMM Nominates Anjani Soren For Odisha’s Mayurbhanj Seat

Bhubaneswar: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has announced Anjani Soren as its candidate for Lok…

March 28, 2024

IESA Signs MoU With Bhubaneswar’s BCKIC To Work In Critical Minerals & Energy Sector

Bhubaneswar: India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bhubaneswar City Knowledge…

March 28, 2024

Vigilance Nabs OSD In Odisha’s Nuapada Collectorate While Taking Bribe Of Rs 30,000

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Vigilance on Thursday apprehended an officer in the collectorate of Nuapada district while…

March 28, 2024

Odisha Javelin Star Kishore Jena Set For Diamond League Debut; Neeraj Chopra Among Strong Field

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s star javelin thrower Kishore Jena had a stellar season in 2023. And he’s…

March 28, 2024