Time ticking away for thousands of HMT workers; Pinjore unit to be to shut down

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi/Chandigarh: The 52-year-old Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) factory in Pinjore will be shut down as the Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Anant G Geete has sent a proposal to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in this regard.

The proposal comes amidst crisis relating to workers payment issues and the changing industrial scenario which has made the company outdated.

Set up for the production of tractors and other machinery, HMT has become financially and economically weak and is not in a position to manage salaries and wages of its employees, it states.

The government proposal, however said that it has plans to offer an attractive Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to the ailing PSU's workforce.

The machine tools subsidiary, which also makes tractors, has five factories in Bengaluru, two each at Kalamassery in Kerala and Hyderabad, and one each at Ajmer in Rajasthan, at Pinjore in Haryana and at Mohali in Punjab.