Auto supply industry works hard to cope with virus cases
Cem Özenen - ISTANBUL
The Turkish automotive supply industry has introduced several overtime working schemes to continue production amid the coronavirus pandemic, according an executive of the Automotive Suppliers Association of Turkey (TAYSAD).
“The rate of workers who tested postive for COVID-19 was 5.4 in the last seven months, however, on a single day, Nov. 5, the rate was 1.8 percent,” TAYSAD Vice President Kemal Yazıcı told a group of journalists on Nov. 22.
With other workers registered as having contacted physically with a person infected by coronavirus, some 10,000 of the 200,000 employees in the sector were on compulsory sick leave, he added.
To continue production uninterruptedly, the automotive supply firms have introduced extra working schemes and increased employment 5 percent, said Yazıcı.
“The sector representatives forecast coronavirus cases to double in the upcoming months,” he said.
Meanwhile, 32 percent of the automotive supply companies are expecting a rise in the demand in the following three months, according to a recent TAYSAD survey. Some 45 percent of the firms said that the orders will stay at the same level.
As the United Kingdom has not struct a trade deal with the EU yet, many European companies have bought auto parts forward from Turkey, Yazıcı said.
With the help of this trend, the Turkish automotive supply industry’s exports will reach $9 billion this year, some $1.6 billion less than last year, he added. The turnover loss of the sector is expected to be around $3.4 billion.
