Slowdown in CV segment may force recruitment freeze: Bosch

The prolonged slowdown in the commercial vehicle segment has everyone worried. Diversified auto component maker Bosch says that while it is committed to the India story, it may however be forced to freeze fresh recruitments till the on-ground situation improves.

Bosch India, managing director, Steffen Berns told CNBC-TV18's Ronojoy Banerjee that there are no signs of a turnaround yet. The acute slowdown that the heavy commercial vehicle segment in India is witnessing is unprecedented. October marked the 20th straight month of decline and so far this year volumes have fallen by 26% compared to the same period last fiscal. This in turn has forced manufacturers to cut production by 25% hurting companies like Bosch. "We are concerned with the slowdown in the heavy CV segment. There are no signs of turnaround yet. Usually CV industry goes up fast and comes down equally fast. Hope the turnaround happens fast when the industrial production improves. If demand weakens then we close production for a few days…." said Berns. Also read: Loan delinquencies rise as downturn pinches Last month Bosch had cut production in Bangalore and Jaipur plants due to the slowdown. Due to poor sales the company has asked a few hundred workers to leave and the management rules out any fresh recruitment till situation improves. Commenting on the same, Berns said, "Headcount at this stage is around 11,500. Thi is slightly down from last year since we reduced temporary workers last year and we don't see number of employment increase till situation improve." . Industry body SIAM too has ruled any turnaround in sentiments till the government intervenes with a stimulus package. Unfortunately, there are no signs of that happening just yet.