Coronavirus: Companies temporarily shutting down its operations in India

There is not a single nation that has not been impacted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The number of coronavirus cases are continuously rising in the western and the european nations, affecting all sectors in terms of jobs, production and trade. US and Italy are the most impacted nations due to the pandemic resulting in continuous rise in death tolls in these nations. As a result, governments of many nations are undertaking measures to limit the number of coronavirus cases, resulting in nationwide lockdown across the world. Businesses have been highly impacted due to the lockdown where factories are shutting down its operations everywhere. 

Many manufacturing facilities in India are temporarily turning down its manufacturing activities in order to support the government initiative of 21 days lockdown in the entire country. The companies that have recently announced closing of its operations are:

Whirlpool

Whirlpool of India Limited, a manufacturer of home appliances, announced that it has been shutting down operations until further notice. As per its press statement, Whirlpool said, “In continuation of our intimation dated 23rd March, 2020 filed with the Stock Exchange, wherein we had informed that manufacturing operations at all the factories of the Company were suspended till 31 March 2020, we hereby inform that in line with the Government advisory, the manufacturing operation at all factories continue to be suspended till 14th April, 2020 or till further notice.”

Whirlpool is primarily engaged in manufacturing and trading of Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Air Conditioners, Microwave Ovens and small appliances and caters to both domestic and international markets.

Escorts

Escorts, an Indian engineering company that operates in the sectors of agri-machinery, construction and material handling equipment, and railway equipment, announced that it has shut down its offices and plants across the country. According to the company’s exchange filings, “In continuation of our intimation dated March 22, 2020 and pursuant to the Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, we would like to inform you that all offices and plants across the Company shall be shut till April 14, 2020 due to the nationwide lockdown announced by the Government.”

Saint Gobain

Saint Gobain, a French multinational corporation engaged in mirror manufacturing and also produces a variety of construction, high-performance, and other materials, announced that it has shut down its plant as per the government guidelines. It said, “Further to our letter submitted on 23rd March 2020, based on the directives from the authorities the manufacturing operations in the Chakan plant of the Company will continue to be suspended till 14th April 2020.”

The Supreme Industries

Supreme, India’s leading plastic processing company, announced that it has suspended its operations at all manufacturing facilities, depots and offices till further notice. As per the company’s press statement: “The Company is taking all appropriate measures for the safety and health of all its employees and associates. Necessary arrangements have been made for employees to work from home to the extent feasible.”

Tata Chemicals

Tata Chemicals, India’s largest chemical company, announced that the company has shut down its manufacturing operations located at Mambattu-Nellore (Andhra Pradesh), Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu), Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu), and scaled down its operations at Mithapur (Gujarat) for the production of soda ash and cement.

According to its release, “The duration of this shut down/scale down is uncertain at this point in time and the resumption of operations at these locations will depend upon the directives issued by the respective Government authorities.”

Bharat Forge

Bharat Forge, a Pune-based Indian multinational company involved in automotives, power, oil & gas, construction & mining, locomotive, marine and aerospace industries, announced closing its all businesses amid lockdown. The company said, “Further to our intimation dated March 23, 2020, we wish to intimate you that the Company has decided to further extend the suspension of its Operations at all the offices and manufacturing locations in India till April 14, 2020.”

TVS Electronics

TVS Electronics, a part of the TVS Group that manufactures, designs and distributes IT products announced a temporary shut down of its operations. It said, “In continuation to our earlier communication dated 24th March, 2020, this is to inform that in view of the widespread COVID-19 pandemic and nation-wide lockdown announced by the  Government of India, the Company continues to halt operations at all its manufacturing plants and its offices until 14th April, 2020. The corporate functions are being carried out under the Company’s “Work From Home” Policy.”

Shricon Industries

Shricon Industries announced in its press statement that it has been scaling down its offices, effective 23rd March. As per the statement: “We would like to inform you that in view of the Corona Virus epidemic, the Indian Government has enforced a Lockdown in the whole country. Accordingly, our Registered Office and Corporate Office have been already closed from 23rd March, 2020 till further notice.”

Bhagiradha Chemicals

Bhagiradha Chemicals, India’s pesticide manufacturers, announced that it has been shutting down its manufacturing unit amid coronavirus. As per its statement, “We would like to inform you that in compliance with order issued by the Government of Andhra Pradesh for controlling the community transmission of Covid-19 disease, Company’s plant situated at Cheruvukommu Palem(Village), Ongole, Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh has been shut down from today onwards till further notice.”

Bhagiradha Chemicals & Industries Limited (BCIL) is a professionally organized public limited company based at Hyderabad, India and dedicated to the manufacture of high quality pesticides.