Contract workers face risks of job losses due to fuel, input supply issues –

There are some signs of stress in certain sectors, including steel, automobiles, textiles, pharma and medical devices such as fuel supply, input cost and availability (shortage) affecting operations, industry representatives and HR experts told TOI.

Restaurants, quick service restaurants (QSRs) and cloud kitchens are also feeling the heat, as the LPG crisis has forced many to scale back or temporarily close their operations.

The disruption has forced major players to halt operations and switch to alternative fuels, according to stock exchange filings by some companies. Kirloskar Ferrous Industries restarted one of its factories on March 21 after it was shut down due to LPG, while Jubilant FoodWorks, which operates Domino’s, is accelerating the shift to electricity and piped natural gas.While reliable data is not yet available on the extent of job losses, several companies and industry experts in various sectors have confirmed this trend.

“Supply chain disruptions caused by the LPG crisis have begun to hit a wide range of MSME clusters and labour-intensive sectors. Small and medium auto component manufacturers, which are critical to the supply chain in the automobile industry, are among the worst affected, given their dependence on gas. Ceramics hubs, such as Kharga and glass clusters such as Firozabad, have seen production slowed down and even shut down, while operations in Agra units have been affected.”

Glass, packaging, paints and plastics are facing supply shortages, with a cascading impact on manufacturing industries, including automobiles and pharmaceuticals. At the brassware cluster in Moradabad and small foundries in Coimbatore, rising input costs and weak demand, especially for pumps and cast iron components, are exacerbating the pressures. “The textile sector is also facing rising fuel costs,” said Ashok Sehgal, president of CII’s National Council for Small and Medium Enterprises.Foundry units in the south operated at almost 50% capacity during March, while the coating group in Aurangabad was also down. He added that what is adding to the pressure is the distress of migrant workers, with the costs of refilling LPG (cooking gas) cylinders rising from about Rs 150 to Rs 450 per kilogram, and many workers are choosing to return to their villages, exacerbating the labor shortage.The pressures are equally evident in India’s gig economy. The temporary workforce is estimated at around 1.2 lakh crore, the majority of which is concentrated in last-mile delivery and those with taxi aggregators, making this sector particularly sensitive to both demand shocks and workforce fluctuations, says Balasubramanian A, senior vice president at TeamLease Services, an HR firm.“Platforms are likely to push towards multi-category roles for workers, reducing dependency on a single segment like food delivery. Also, during elections, harvest seasons and major festivals, a section of workers usually return to their home states, further tightening availability. With exit polls this month in several states, this (labor) pool could be tightened,” he said.“While no immediate structural change is expected from companies, gig workers are already being negatively impacted due to the slowdown in operations,” says Sonal Agrawal, Managing Partner, Accord India/AltoPartners.

Organizations are now moving beyond reactive measures towards a more agile recalibration of their workforce models, especially within business and delivery systems, says Yashab Giri, commercial director of operational talent solutions at Randstad India, a talent company.