The exodus of the migrant labour, estimated at 25% of the population in big cities, has affected business across the board Parle Products Ltd, one of India’s top biscuit makers, has been unable to run its units in Mumbai at full capacity for the past few weeks despite strong demand.
Many of the 30,000-strong migrant workforce employed at Parle or at its associate networks across the country have chosen to return to their hometowns instead of braving the extended lockdown in big cities such as Mumbai, where the number of covid-19 infections is yet to show signs of abating. “We are a labour-intensive industry and a good part of our labour is migrant, so we are facing the same issue as others," said Mayank Shah, senior category head, Parle