Company and employees focus on meeting customer needs
Greater Noida (India), Turin (Italy), September 29, 2008 - Oerlikon Drive Systems, owner of the Graziano Trasmissioni facility based in Greater Noida, India, and segment of the Swiss high-tech group OC Oerlikon, reopened the Greater Noida facility today. The plant had been closed following last week's attack on workers and the brutal beating death of CEO Lalit Chaudhary. The company announced that 100 employees were on-site and working energetically with management to meet customers' needs. The company plans to reach full production capacity as soon as possible. "This shows tremendous resiliency on the part of our workforce and an unwavering commitment to our customers," said Marcello Lamberto, Segment CEO of Oerlikon Drive Systems. "I am proud of their dedication and service. We now expect that all necessary steps are being taken by local authorities," Lamberto continued.
The company noted that increased security measures have been implemented by Oerlikon Graziano. "A full investigation has been launched by local law enforcement, and we have engaged our own security firm to ensure that our employees will be safe," said Dr. Uwe Krüger, CEO of Oerlikon Group. "We are not willing to lose ground due to this malicious act of violence, but will continue to expand, bringing high qualified and well paid jobs to this region of India," Lamberto concluded.
LAST WEEK'S EVENTS
Mr. Chaudhary's death resulted from what appears to have been a calculated and planned riot, as part of an effort to destroy the relationship between the company and the employees and to impede the operations in Greater Noida. The activities were illegal under Indian law. Initial claims that the company's security personnel fired upon the rampaging workers as they broke into the work site appear to be false. The company had dismissed employees who supported these illegal activities and those who refused to return to work.
