Royal Enfield, the maker of some India's most popular bikes, has decided to shut its regional offices in several cities including Gurugram, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bhubneshwar. This initiative has been taken by Royal Enfield keeping in mind the heavy cost that automakers have had to bear because of the total industry shut down amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
An internal circular has been sent to the employees informing them about the shutting down of 12 regional offices.
"The admin team has begun the process of renegotiating the terms for an early exit for the remaining RO (regional office) locations, where the lock-in period is beyond one year, but sales, service, apparel employees in these regions will continue on a work-from-home basis," Livemint quoted the circular as stating.
This development was also confirmed by Lalit Malik, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at RE on Friday.
"We are looking to shut down some regional offices but people will continue to work from home. This will save a lot of travel time for our regional employees," Malik had said.
Having said that, Royal Enfield also confirmed that the bookings for the month of May almost reached the pre-pandemic levels and that the company is 'quite satisfied' at the moment.
Royal Enfield reported domestic sales of 18,429 units in the month of May 2020. The numbers are 69 per cent lower than 60,211 units sold by the two-wheeler manufacturer in the same month last year.