Maruti Suzuki India cuts temporary workforce by 6% as sales plummet

Maruti Suzuki, which produces about one in two of the passenger vehicles sold in the country, yesterday reported a 33.5% decline in sales in July to 109,265 vehicles compared with July 2018

The country's biggest automaker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, has cut the number of workers it employs on temporary contracts following a plunge in vehicle sales, it told Reuters.

The auto industry, which accounts for nearly half of the country's manufacturing output, is going through one of its worst slowdowns in nearly a decade, with vehicle sales falling rapidly and little sign of a revival anytime soon.

The company said it employed 18,845 temporary workers on average during the six months ended June 30, down 6 per cent, or 1,181 people, from the same period last year, adding that job cuts