Cheap products from China have forced an ink manufacturer in India, that has been running loses for three years, to shut down two of its three plants and lay off more than 2,000 employees. A senior executive of the family-run business shared the update on Reddit and said that the rising operational costs made the job cut inevitable.
The executive, whose father and elder brother make the managerial decisions, said the layoff impacted 1,934 permanent employees and 896 long‑term contractual workers.
“My father has been running this business for 34 years, and I joined five years ago in our overseas team. I recently moved to India and now work as the chief of operations,” the Reddit user said. “In our recent meeting, we decided to shut down two of our plants. As a result, we are forced to let go of at least 1,934 permanent staff and 896 long-term contractual workers. We also have a small IT team of 72 people, which is heavily downsizing to just eight members.”
The executive also said that competitive pressures from Chinese manufacturers had eroded margins beyond recovery. “We simply can’t sustain the employee costs anymore,” he wrote.
Clash over severance terms
The post also triggered a debate on the severance package approved for the outgoing workers.
The executive said he had pushed for a more generous plan — three months’ pay plus one additional month for every year of service, capped at five months. Instead, the company approved two weeks’ pay plus one week for every year served, capped at four weeks.
“I was honestly very disappointed,” he wrote, adding that the decision was approved by his father and brother without consulting him.
The contrast was especially stark, he noted, because when overseas support teams were laid off two years earlier, their severance packages were significantly better.
‘Manufacturing is collapsing’
Reactions to the post reflected wider anxiety within India’s manufacturing sector. Several users said factories linked to petroleum‑based raw materials have halted production due to price increases and weak demand, with many now relying on old inventory.
“If an organisation this big is wrapping up operations, no wonder production is in total collapse,” one commenter wrote.
Others sympathised with the leadership dilemma, calling the situation “market pressure in its rawest form”. Some suggested seeking management consultants or using AI‑driven tools to explore turnaround strategies.
A recurring suggestion from commenters was that the leadership team should consider pay cuts at the top to fund better severance for displaced workers.
“Set an example in the industry,” one user wrote. “It will at least help them provide three meals a day for their families.”