GM lays off 1,419 workers in Pune, skips Maha nod

GM HAD APPEALED TO HIGH COURT OVER STATE GOVT’ DECISION TO SEND DISPUTE TO INDUSTRIAL COURT

US auto major General Motors (GM) has laid off 1,419 employees at its Talegaon plant in Pune, citing hardships caused by COVID-19 on the company. The US auto major, in a notice dated Apr 16, said the employees will be compensated as per the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

A company source told Informist that the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, enables General Motors to lay off workers on 50% pay for 45 days and then eventually lay them off.

As per the notice given by the company, the section in the Act does not mandatorily require the company to seek government approval.

The automaker had in November appealed to the state government for approval of plant closure.

Earlier Dilip-Walse Patil, Maharashtra's labour minister, had denied the plant closure request and then subsequently did not decide on a review petition filed by the company.

Instead, he sent the matter to the Industrial Disputes Court in Pune. "Production at the Talegaon plant ceased on Dec 24, 2020," a company spokesperson said.

"The company gave employees and the union more than a year's notice of the end of production. No vehicles have been manufactured since production ended and there is no prospect of the company resuming production at the site."

Over the past four months, the company continued to pay employees, despite no vehicles being manufactured, the spokesperson said.

GM has also appealed before the Bombay High Court against the state government's decision to send a labour dispute relating to the company's plant in Talegaon to an industrial court. In its Apr 16 notice, it also cited its failed business in India and lack of demand in overseas markets for vehicles made in the country as reasons for the shutdown of total production in December.

The US automaker said all employees were offered a separation package of 75 days per year of service, well in excess of the statutory requirement. As per the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, employees are eligible for 15 days of compensation for every year of service. The General Motors Employee Union has been demanding that jobs be retained and employment be transferred to China's Great Wall Motors, which is likely to buy General Motors' existing facility in Talegaon.

The automaker had in November appealed to the state government for approval of plant closure