Did Mahindra Really Lay Off More Than Half Of Its Employees In North America?

According to two sources familiar with the matter, Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra has had to cut more than half of its North American workforce since mid-2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its ongoing legal battle with FCA.

The company’s North American unit had over 500 employees in early 2020, with “hundreds of workers” having been laid off since to the tune of two-thirds of the total staffing, as per Reuters.

People were reportedly let go from positions such as engineering, manufacturing and even sales. Mahindra Automotive North America (MANA) admits that it has furloughed some staff and laid off others because of the pandemic, but no official figures have been provided.

Read: Mahindra & Mahindra Will Focus On SUV And EV Development

“This forced us to halt production and furlough our manufacturing team and some additional people across several functions, including the Roxor sales team,” said the carmaker, while adding that it now expects to recall a large group of employees after a favorable ruling in the lawsuit against FCA.

Currently valued at just over $12.6 billion, Mahindra is still looking to sell its stake in South Korean brand Ssangyong Motor. It has also called off a joint venture deal with Ford, while pulling the plug on its U.S. electric scooter business GenZe.

Mahindra’s goal moving forward is to focus resources on developing a core portfolio of SUVs and electric vehicles.

“We are going to look ahead at how we can accelerate our investment in electric and really start moving to the new age. We clearly hold the ambition to be a global brand and there again the electric journey is an important one,” said deputy managing exec Anish Shah.