Domestic and international travel plans of all employees have been suspended

Ford India and Volvo India have announced work from home for all employees on its rolls in the country, as a safety measure against Coronavirus (COVID-19). This order is with effect from 17th March 2020 and will help to minimize risks associated with this dreaded virus that has taken the world by storm.

Along with the work from home order, Volvo Car India has also suspended all domestic and international travel plans of its employees to reduce exposure to this virus. The company has also established required IT infrastructure for the employees and meetings will also be scheduled online via Microsoft Teams / Skype.

Volvo India employees desiring to work from the office will have to take permission from their respective managers while utmost hygiene will have to be maintained within the office premises. The premises themselves will be regularly cleaned using enhanced sanitization measures.

In Bengaluru, all visits to the Volvo site office have been suspended till further notice. Employees have also been put through awareness programs so as to understand the importance of social distancing and instructed to avoid attendance of public events or other places during their social hours. Along with instructions to employees, Volvo Car India has also instructed its dealers to ensure hygiene at their dealerships. All demo cars will have hand sanitizers as a mandatory requirement.

These stringent measures are a part of the company’s endeavor to keep its people safe and help to limit the spread of the virus through the workplace. These measures will be followed till such time the situation continues in the country and will be re-evaluated appropriately.

Ford India, which has a comparatively larger workforce than Volvo India – too has implemented a similar order. All of their employees in the country are asked to work from home, unless those required in business critical situations. Ford India also has the Global Business Services operations in the country. Together, the workforce stands at 10,000 – majority of which has been asked to work from home.

Ford spokesperson said, “Starting Monday March 16, we have instructed much of our India 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.”

Tata Motors too has issued a similar order, but only for their office-based employees who work at regional offices or at the headquarters.