ACC arm lays off 25% of staff, expansion on hold

In a precursor to possible large-scale retrenchment in the construction sector, ACC Concrete Ltd, a subsidiary ACC Ltd, has laid off 190 of its permanent employees, report Lalatendu Mishra & NK Singh.

In a precursor to possible large-scale retrenchment in the construction sector, ACC Concrete Ltd, a subsidiary ACC Ltd, has laid off 190 of its permanent employees, 25 per cent of its total work force, across various locations in India. ACC Ltd, India’s largest cement maker, is a subsidiary of Switzerland’s Holcim, the world’s second-largest cement producer.

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Due to a bleak outlook on construction business, ACC Concrete has also put all its expansion plans on hold. ACC’s ready mix concrete business with a new name ACC Concrete was hived off into a separate company in January 2008 and it had 780 employees on its pay roll prior to the lay-off. The majority of the lay offs are in Bangalore and at various levels.

In addition, hundreds of workers hired by sub-contractors engaged by ACC Concrete have also been rendered jobless. ACC Concrete has disengaged three sub-contractors in Bangalore alone. According to industry sources, 600 contract workers have lost jobs.

The company, having 30 modern plants in Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkota, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune and Ahmedabad, caters to the requirement of residential and commercial real-estate developers and construction companies engaged in building industrial and infrastructure projects.

The company said its officials were in constant communication with the affected employees and are providing all possible assistance to ensure a smooth transition. Some incentives are also being given for a smooth handling of the situation.