Hero MotoCorp launches Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for all staff members

Nearly a week after India's biggest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp appointed a new CEO, Niranjan Gupta, who has been the Chief Financial Officer of the company, it has moved to restructure its staff. The company said in a press release today that it has launched a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its employees.

"In keeping with the objective of building a robust organization in a rapidly evolving dynamic environment while retaining employee welfare at its core, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, today launched a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its staff," it said.

Hero MotoCorp has been trying to manage staff issues for a while. Over the last two years, it has changed the leadership team that reports to Chairman Pawan Munjal. There are new heads for marketing, R&D, procurement, HR, strategy, and electrification. Almost all key functions, barring finance and international business, are now led by people hired from outside the organisation.


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Before Gupta's appointment, many in the industry said Chairman, and then also CEO, Munjal should have long brought in a full-time professional CEO to steer the ship,

After the appointment of company insider Gupta as the CEO, it is said the company is trying to groom a pool of internal talent in key functions to take on leadership roles in the future as part of a well laid-out succession plan.

The VRS, the company said in the release, has been designed in line with the vision to make the organization agile and ‘future-ready’, consolidating roles and reducing layers to increase empowerment and agility. "We expect this to improve efficiency within the Company through a lean and more productive organization," it said.

Applicable to all staff members, the VRS offers a package that includes – among other benefits – a one-time lump-sum amount, variable pay, gifts, medical coverage, retention of company car, relocation assistance, career support etc.

"The general consumer sentiment is improving, as reflected in the sales performance in the month of March. The constructive policies of the government and the social sector reforms have given a further boost to the demand scenario and the two-wheeler industry expects these factors to contribute towards a double-digit growth in this financial year," the company said.