At least 140 employees and contractors employed at Bajaj Auto’s Waluj plant have tested positive for Covid-19. Two of those infected have succumbed to the infection, the company has said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Ravi Kyran Ramasamy, CHRO at Bajaj Auto said, “We have more than 8,100 employees and contractors employed in our Waluj plant. Our current incidence of 140 cases of Covid is less than 2 percent of our strength. Two of our infected employees with underlying conditions of hyper tension and diabetes have unfortunately succumbed to the infection." The company’s manufacturing facility at Waluj is functioning normally, the management reiterated.

Company officials said that after the countrywide lockdown, the Waluj facility has been ramping operations from April 24 onwards. The first case was reported on June 6.

“We continue to provide all support including medical assistance to affected employees. We at Bajaj Auto, like the country at large, are now learning to live with the virus. We will continue our normal business operations, while taking all necessary safety measures, as the alternative is to shut down our operations with ‘no work no pay’ which will have a drastic impact on our employees and supply chain,” added Ramasamy.

The district of Aurangabad, where Waluj is located, has been amongst the epicentres of Covid-19 infection in Maharashtra. The industrial belt has seen about 4,522 cases until Friday.