Parle may cut up to 10,000 jobs

As many as 10,000 employees of country's leading biscuit maker Parle Products Pvt Ltd are staring at an unemployment crisis.

The crisis has arisen due to slow economic growth and sudden fall in demand in the rural heartland, said reports. Mayank Shah, category head of Parle Products, said the company is witnessing 50 per cent fall in sales volume in the rural areas which amount more than Rs 10,000 crore.

The products like Parle-G, Monaco and Marie brand biscuits have faced the cut-down and over 1 lakh employs from 10 plants plus 125 third party manufacturers.

Currently, Parle Products Pvt Ltd employs about 1,00,000 people. The workforce includes both permanent and contract workers across 10 company-owned facilities and 125 contract manufacturing plants. Parle Products Pvt Ltd was founded in 1929.

Blaming the implementation of the GST by the ruling BJP government at the Centre, Mayank Shah, category head at Parle, said the higher taxes forced Parle to offer fewer biscuits in each pack. As a result, the price-sensitive lower-income consumers in rural India didn't think it right to send Rs 5 for fewer biscuits, he added.