Covid-19 second wave: Corporate firms in Gujarat shut headquarters
As the second wave of Covid-19 hits industries across the country, several corporate firms in Gujarat have now shut their headquarters and are resorting to the work from home policy, considering the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state.
Business conglomerate Adani Group has decided to close its headquarters on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway and asked all employees to work from home. Sources told the media that a couple of buildings, which house the Adani Group’s headquarters, in the Shantigram township would remain closed till next Monday. The newly built headquarters have nearly 5,000 employees. The sources said many of the employees live in the township. With nearly 100 cases surfacing inside the township, the management decided to shut the offices for a week.
Torrent Group, another Ahmedabad-based conglomerate, has also closed its headquarters and asked all employees to work from their homes. Executive Director of Torrent Group, Jayesh Desai, informed the media that the decision was taken to protect employees from the coronavirus infection.
According to Desai, Torrent Group’s plants continue to be operational, and technical and other staff working at plants are following the necessary safety protocols. The group’s core businesses of gas, pharmaceuticals and power are managed from its headquarters.
India’s biggest private sector company, Reliance Industries (RIL), is headquartered in Mumbai, but most of its business interests including one of the biggest crude oil refineries in Asia, are located in Gujarat. RIL has converted two townships adjoining its crude oil refineries at Jamnagar and Vadodara into fortresses. According to RIL, no outsiders are allowed to enter the townships till further notice.
The $550 million Ahmedabad-based Meghmani Group has also shut its headquarters in Prahlad Nagar. Ashish Soparkar, Managing Director of Meghmani Organics, a flagship company of the group, said the management has asked around 200 employees from headquarters to work from home till further notice.
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