At the launch of their premium hatchback the i20, while reiterating a commitment to not shed jobs, Hyundai Motors India Limited (HMIL) announced its plans to scale back on the hiring of trainees starting 2009 as a measure to survive the slump the auto industry finds itself in.

Ashok K Jha, President, HMIL said, “No jobs will be axed. But we do currently have nearly 4000 trainees. Once the current trainee cycle is completed, we will scale down this number by 1200 trainees so as to be closer to the minimum number we are required to keep as per the Apprentice Act, 1961”.

According to the Act, given the size of HMIL, they are expected to maintain at least 1718 apprentices in a given cycle. Instead of cutting jobs from their existing work force, once the present trainee cycle that lasts for a period of one year finishes, they will induct 1200 fewer trainees in the new cycle. Additionally, fewer trainees from among the present cycle are likely to be absorbed into the workforce given that Hyundai is cutting down production by 25 per cent by scaling down its three shift operation to two shift operations at their Chennai plant.

Despite having had a better year than a lot of their competitors, HMIL will miss its sales target for 2008 by as much as 8.5 per cent having sold only 4.85 lakh cars as of December 28 against their target of 5.30 lakhs. They have also revised their sales targets for 2009 to much more conservative estimates.

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