Bosch Ltd, the Indian unit of the world’s largest auto parts supplier, plans to join its parent, Robert Bosch GmbH in cutting jobs as the nation witnesses one of its worst auto sales slowdowns in decades.
The German company would cut “a couple of thousand” jobs in India over the next four years, India managing director Soumitra Bhattacharya said.
About 10 percent of 3,700 white-collar jobs and a slightly higher percentage of 6,300 blue-collar jobs are to be cut, he added in an interview in Bangalore on Tuesday.
“There is a transformation happening across the industry,” Bhattacharya said. “We looked at that as an opportunity to transform the company even before the downturn started.”
Automakers worldwide are to shed 80,000 jobs in the coming years amid shrinking demand. That would hit sales at auto part makers.
In India, Bosch expects auto sales to only recover over the next two to three years after plummeting this year due to regulatory changes, threat of electrification, a liquidity crunch and an economic slowdown.
Still, the German component maker sees the demand for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles leading growth in the auto industry in India.
Both ICE and electric powertrains would coexist for a long time, Bhattacharya said.
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