Hyundai Motor India to retrench temporary staff

Seoul: Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, will cut some temporary staff in India as the global recession reduces demand for exports from the country and local consumers put off car purchases.

The company may also cut production in India and exports could decline 25 per cent in the first half of 2009, Rajiv Mitra, a spokesman of the Indian unit, said on Friday.

Mitra declined to say how many people will be laid off.

Seoul-based Hyundai joins Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and other automakers in slashing temporary workers as recession in Europe, Japan, and the US hurts car sales.

Hyundai will cut 2,000 temporary workers in India, about 25 per cent of its total workforce in the country, the Business Standard daily reported earlier on Friday.

"Some people will be laid off," Mitra said. "It won't be as high" as reported. "Not even half," he said.

Hyundai Motor, the second-biggest carmaker in India, employs 5,100 regular employees, and about 3,300 temporary workers in India, Mitra said.

Hyundai's India car sales fell 26 per cent last month to 14,601 units, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.