NEW DELHI: Hero MotoCorp on Wednesday announced launching a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its staff, which it calls has been designed in line with the vision to make the organisation agile and ‘future-ready’, consolidating roles and reducing layers to increase empowerment and agility.
This decision by the country’s top two-wheeler maker comes a week after appointing Niranjan Gupta as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, elevating him from his current position as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Head - Strategy and M&A.
“We expect this (the VRS) to improve efficiency within the company through a lean and more productive organisation,” said Hero MotoCorp in a statement.
The VRS is applicable to all its staff members and according to Hero, it will offer a generous package that includes – among other benefits - a one-time lump-sum amount, variable pay, gifts, medical coverage, retention of the company car, relocation assistance, career support, etc.
The company has six facilities in India, and one each in Bangladesh and Columbia. According to Hero’s annual report, the number of permanent employees on the rolls as of March 31, 2022, was 9,173 (previous year 8,793) including workers defined under the Factories Act, 1948. Hero had said its employee cost has grown nominally by 1.9 per cent due to an increase in counts and the impact of annual increments.
Hero spent a total of Rs 1,935 crore in employee benefits in the financial year 2021-2022 (FY22), up from Rs 1,899 crore in FY21. Its total expense in FY22 was reported at Rs 26,552 crore.
Gupta’s appointment as the CEO of the company was seen as a long pending move as many believed that there is a need for Hero to rope in more professionals to run the company more efficiently. Hero has changed the leadership team, in the last two years, who were earlier reporting to Chairman Pawan Munjal.