Maruti Suzuki hit by "Jat" protests

Maruti Suzuki went down 2.5% today to an intra day low of Rs.3495. It has recovered from this level but remains around 25 down at Rs.3519 levels.

The company informed the exchanges yesterday that it had suspended operations at its factories in Manesar and Gurgaon since half day after protests disrupted the supply of some components.

The company said that it had stopped manufacturing where it makes a total of 5,000 vehicles daily. The company has assured that it is trying to find other parts suppliers not affected by the protests, adding it would resume normal operations when the supply is restored though it did not specify a date.

This protest is a fallout of the demonstrations led by the Jat community against the quota system, which they say limits their access to government jobs.

Thus the market is overly worried as it is a social protest and not its union, which in the past has given nightmares to the company and its stock price.