Moser Baer India 'compelled' to declare lockout after strike at Noida unit

Moser Baer India, a manufacturer of CDs and DVDs, on Monday said that workers' strike at its Greater Noida plant has hit factory operations and compelled the management to declare a lockout of the said unit till circumstances become conducive for re-starting work.

"Recently, workers have indulged in illegal and unjustified strike at the plant with unreasonable demands, thereby affecting factory operations," the company said in a BSE filing.

The company further said the management, in order to protect the people and property, was "constrained and compelled to declare a lockout" of the factory at Greater Noida "till the circumstances are conducive for recommencement of the operations".

The company further said that it is monitoring the situation and that all "appropriate steps in resolving the matter" are being initiated "as warranted by the circumstances".

The subsidiary companies and other units of the company are unaffected by the development, the company clarified.

Moser Baer has been regularly supplying products from its Greater Noida plant to its global clients and creating jobs, it said.

But technological changes and shrinking of markets has left the company with idle infrastructure, high wage costs and other overhead expenses resulting in "severe liquidity constraints", the filing said.

"This was compounded by significant financial liabilities to banks and other stakeholders and lack of working capital support from the lenders under Corporate Debt Restructuring," it added.

The Greater Noida facility is used for making CDs and DVDs, a source close to the company said.