Parle May Soon Cut 10,000 Jobs Due to Economic Slowdown, Fall in Demand

A Reuters report quoted Mayank Shah, category head at Parle, "A sharp drop in Parle's biscuit sales means the company may have to slash production, which may result in layoffs of 8,000-10,000 people."

New Delhi: In an unsettling report, Parle Products Private Limited, India’s largest biscuit maker could soon sack as many as 10,000 workers from across cities.

This step is being reasoned on slowing economic growth and falling demand in the rural sector that has impacted the production costs.

A Reuters report quoted Mayank Shah, category head at Parle, “A sharp drop in Parle’s biscuit sales means the company may have to slash production, which may result in layoffs of 8,000-10,000 people.”

He added, “The situation is so bad, that if the government doesn’t intervene immediately… we may be forced to eliminate these positions.”

Founded in 1929, Parle currently employs 1,00,000 people that includes direct and contract workers across all facilities and manufacturing plants.

Shah explained that the fall in demand for Parle products like Parle-G has affected the production. He also blamed goods and services tax (GST) which threw the pricing off making a pack cost Rs 5 now.

The complex taxing structure also compelled Parle to limit the number of biscuits it sold in a single packet. Commenting on this, Shah told Reuters, “Consumers here are extremely price-sensitive. They’re extremely conscious of how many biscuits they are getting for a particular price.”

According to reports, Parle had held talks with former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over GST rules and urged him for a review.

Britannia Industries Limited, Parle’s main competitor, is also reported to be facing massive issues.

Speaking to analysts, Varun Berry, managing director of Britannia Industries Ltd said that consumers are now thinking twice before buying products priced at Rs 5 a pack.

Earlier on Wednesday, shares of Britannia also fell down by 1.5 percent.