Ford has asked its 10,000 employees in India to work from home with similar steps being taken by Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo and Fiat Chrysler India in the wake coronavirus pandemic.
Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India and Mahindra group said they have implemented a slew of measures, including asking employees who had traveled overseas in the past two weeks to impose self-quarantine while all domestic and international travels have now been restricted.
A Ford India spokesperson said, in recent days, the company has concluded that the issue of coronavirus has taken on a different dimension. The company is continuing to act in real-time to keep its "people safe and help limit the spread of the virus in communities where we live and work. Therefore, starting Monday, March 16, we have instructed much of our Indian workforce (over 10,000 people) including Ford India and Global Business Services except those in business-critical roles that cannot be done away from Ford facilities to work remotely until further notice."
The company which has around 40 employees on its rolls in India said all of them has been asked to work from home with immediate effect while necessary IT infrastructure has been put in place to facilitate business continuity. It, however, said access to the office remains open for any employee who prefers to work from the office, after informing the respective manager.
On the other hand, automaker FCA India on Tuesday said it has permitted over 50% of its staff in Mumbai and Pune to work from home at least until 31 March.
