Rane Group Vrs Prunes Staff Force By 250

The Rs 500-crore Rane group has pruned its workforce by about 250 people in the last few months, as part of the overall cost-cutting measures initiated to survive the recession in the auto industry.

The total number of employees in the group is now around 4000 in the three main companies constituting the group - Rane Madras Ltd, Rane Brake Lining Ltd and Engine Valves.

Temporary and casual workers were the first to be laid-off. The voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for permanent employees, however, was implemented in the group's older plants, and were so structured to retain younger talent.

This has been managed largely by linking the pay-out to the number of years the employee had already served with the company.

 

At the same time, it was not unattractive, say for a person who had put in just four or five years, company officials say.

The total outgo due to voluntary retirement scheme and the actual structuring of the scheme, however, was not immediately available as the "scheme was implemented in five or six instalments, and was spread across all plants of the group."

In addition, the number of working days has also been reduced by one in the group's valve and camshaft plants.

From six days a week, it has now been reduced to five days, and this began about six months back.

At the foundry in Chennai too, there is one lay-off day and it is now a five-day week, down from six days.

According to L Ganesh, group vice chairman, "The group is using the slowdown to take a close look at all aspects of costing - material, productivity, energy and people."

Although there are no overall targets for cutting down costs, specific elements of cost have been identified to enable the company to emerge "leaner and meaner."

For instance, interest costs are to be reduced from an average 16 per cent to about 14 per cent this fiscal.