Coca-Cola suspends manufacturing in three Indian plants
The temporary halt is due to flagging sales, the company said in a statement.
"Like with any other manufacturing organisation, we are going through a process of consolidation where new state-of-the art facilities are being built and existing production capacities are being optimised,” it said regarding the Kaladera plant.
"These decisions are taken in keeping with plant capacity utilisation considerations, based on the market demands and projections.”
While manufacturing at Kaladera has been suspended, the company said all of the plant’s other operations would continue.
“We also retain the licence to produce at this plant, which is testimony to the fact that should there be a change in demand and volume, we may utilise this latent capacity at the Kaladera plant," it said.
According to a PTI report which claimed that production at Coca-Cola’s Vishakhapatnam and Brynihat had also stopped, the disruptions may affect at least 300 employees.
HCCB operates 54 plants in India which produce a range of soft drinks including Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Fanta, Limca, Sprite and Maaza.
In 2012, the company announced plans to invest US$5bn in India by 2020 on a range of activities including new bottling plants.
