Maruti to stay put at Manesar, planning new plant  
NEW DELHI: Unfazed by the violence perpetrated against his management staff, Maruti Suzuki Managing Director Shinzo Nakanishi said a third new factory will come up at Manesar by the middle of next year, but warned that this time 'violence will not be forgiven'.

Claiming that not a single mishap of such nature has ever happened in Suzuki Motor Corp's entire global operations spread across Hungary, Indonesia, Spain, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, China and the Philippines, Nakanishi in an interview to ET said the Japanese carmaker has tolerated enough and its lenient outlook will gradually change. "It's a big trauma for my people (referring to his managerial staff.) We will not take it anymore," he said after attending the cremation of the HR executive who died in Wednesday's violence, and visiting the 93 workers injured in the incident.

The MD, who went to each victim apologising for the miseries inflicted on them by fellow workers, says it's high time the government intervened to stop such ghastly violence. He has asked both the Union and Haryana governments to come out with a decisive action plan to restore corporate confidence amid emergence of this new 'militant workforce' in Indian factories. "I will personally ask Haryana Chief Minister BS Hooda for a thorough investigation and would like to know if there are any shadows that are sabotaging our operations in India."

The twin plants at Manesar have been shut indefinitely. The company says the office facilities have been burnt beyond repair along with heavy damages to the main gate, security office and fire safety section. The Maruti brass is not specific on resuming operations, but has ruled out the much speculated plans to shift out from Haryana.

"Gujarat is expansion of the Indian operations and not an alternative," Nakanishi clarified. He claims Manesar should turn out to be an ideal location once the dust settles down and Maruti gears up for a new decisive innings.

Pointing out that the powertrain plant in the same Manesar complex and the motorcycle plant in the vicinity are functioning normally, he said: "All other Suzuki facilities in India are running normally and once we get back into the stride, the Manesar plant would also be operating in a similar way."



Source : Economic Times (7/21/2012)

Maruti workers brutally hunted company brass  
NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki workers who went on the rampage on Wednesday evening appear to have systematically and mercilessly "hunted" senior executives. At least 26 executives have sustained fractures, with several having multiple injuries, as the protesters used everything from rods to car parts.

General manager, human resources, Awanish Kumar Dev died in the fire after both his legs were fractured in the thrashing by workers and he was left helpless in an office that was set ablaze.

Those injured include five vice-presidents, six general managers and seven DGMs, apart from other executives. Four of them, including a Japanese employee, are still said to be critical.

"The intention appeared to be to attack the senior staff and make the plant near defunct," a senior company executive said.

Several executives were trapped inside the factory as they were involved in negotiations with workers following a row earlier on Wednesday. Even as the talks were underway on the mezzanine floor, workers gathered on the ground floor and blocked the exit. When the talks collapsed in the evening, rods and car parts were pulled out to attack the company brass, eyewitnesses said. "It seemed like a premeditated attack with an intention to incapacitate staff," said S Y Siddiqui, head of human resources at Maruti Suzuki.

Among the senior staffers targeted by the rampaging workers was C S Raju, VP for human resources at the Manesar plant. Other VPs who were injured included Vikram Khazanchi (Manesar factory head) and P K Roy (head of plant 2), with the latter suffering serious injuries. Vikram Verma, VP for utilities, and Birender Prasad (VP-HR) were also beaten up.

The GMs who were thrashed included Anil Gaur (plant, HR), Vikram Sareen (production), Sultan Singh (supplier quality), S R Rana (electrical maintenance) and L K Gupta (plant maintenance). The company had admitted the injured to around half-a-dozen hospitals in Gurgaon, and around 60 have already been discharged. "It is not only the physical injury that needs to be healed, but also the mental trauma that has to be taken care off," Siddiqui said.

Maruti Suzuki MD Shinzo Nakanishi said the death of Dev was a rude shock for the company brass. "I feel extremely sorry for what happened to Dev. We just cannot forgive this kind of violence...this is totally unacceptable," he said.

Siddiqui said the company was trying to understand what led the workers to go for such a brutal attack. "We need to see what led to this barbaric action and what was the reason for such negativity."

Source : Economic Times (7/21/2012)

'Manesar plant violence the biggest challenge in my career'  
NEW DELHI: Describing the Manesar plant violence as the biggest challenge in his career, Maruti Suzuki Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi today said the incident has put a "bad dot" in the company's history.

"It is the biggest challenge in my career. I have put a bad dot in the company's history," Nakanishi, who has been associated with Maruti Suzuki India since inception, told.

The company's General Manager (HR) Awanish Kumar Dev was killed and 100 others injured in the violence the broke out at the Manesar plant on Wednesday.

Candidly admitting that he was taken by surprise by the turn of events, Nakanishi said: "I really don't know why this is happening. After last year's strike, we thought the 'shadow of outside' was removed and thus the new union at Manesar was recognised."

After three incidents of labour unrests last year, in October the company had reached an agreement with the workers, following which Maruti Suzuki Workers' Union was recognised.

The company had opposed to outside affiliation of the union, which was finally agreed by the workers.

Nakanishi wondered if there was still outside influence on its workforce.

"If there is a shadow of outside now, there is a mistake on our part (in understanding the workers) or they are really good at hiding it from us," lamented Nakanishi, who took over as Managing Director of Maruti Suzuki India on December 19, 2007.

Asked if there was a communication gap with the workers, he said: "If there has been a lack of communication with the workers, then we need to improve it."

Nakanishi has been associated with Maruti Suzuki from the time the company was set up and started operations in 1983. From 2002 to December 2007, he was the Non-Executive Chairman of the company.

He has had several overseas assignments covering Suzuki Motor Corporation's operations in China, Indonesia, West Europe, Hungary, Pakistan and the Middle East.

Source : Economic Times (7/21/2012)

Deceased Maruti HR manager Awanish Kumar Dev had resigned 6 months back  
KOLKATA: Destiny or foul play? As the devastated family of Awanish Kumar Dev grapples with the question, it appears that the unfortunate GM (HR) of Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant had put in his papers six months ago because he had apprehended trouble, but was forced to stay on by the management of the automobile maker.

This startling revelation was made by Awanish's 45-year-old brother Avinash who told ET over phone from Delhi: "There was simmering tension at the Manesar plant for quite some time and Awanish had put in his papers. He was very stressed out and could have seen this coming. He was all set to join another organisation but had finally decided to give in to the persuasion of senior officials of the company."

Avinash broke down on the phone, sobbing uncontrollably. "Obviously, fate had this in store for him. We are now definite that the attack on my brother was pre-planned. It wouldn't have been possible otherwise to summon over 3,000 people in such a short time. Our 80-year-old father, Rameshwar Saha is demanding a CBI probe into the incident," Avinash said.

"We also suspect a strong political hand in this incident, but please do not ask me for names. As a family, we are now really afraid of what might follow," Avinash said.

He recounted how Awanish used to talk about the prevailing tension at the plant and how the older workers used to stay calm and do their work. "It was the younger generation, between 25 and 30 years, who were really aggressive and the ones who created all the problems," Avinash said.

"This was no accidental killing. The turn of events suggest that my brother was clearly the main target. Though the discussion with the labour union to reinstate the worker who had been suspended for beating up a supervisor was moving in a positive direction, the mob had become violent. All five or six gates were closed. The workers killed him, before pushing him into fire," Avinash alleged.

Owner of a pharmacy in Ranchi, an utterly devastated Avinash kept on asking: "Is this the price one pays for trying to maintain cordial industrial relations at the plant? Awanish was just an employee, not the owner of either the plant or the company. He was merely trying to carry out management instructions."

Maruti officials were extending all support to the family. "Since nearly 100 Maruti officials have been hospitalised, the company has not yet offered any compensation. And in any case, we are just too mentally disturbed now to even think about it," said Avinash.

Source : Economic Times (7/21/2012)