Unperturbed by the slowdown in the auto sector, India's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India is going ahead with its hiring plans and expects to have a total staff strength of 7,350 by the end of the year.

The auto-maker's total headcount is currently 7,200.

"We plan to have a total employee strength of 7,350 by the year-end," Maruti Suzuki India Managing Executive Officer Administration (HR, Finance and IT) S Y Siddiqui said.

The move comes at a time when the slowdown in the auto industry had made other vehicle manufacturers such as Tata Motors disengage 700

temporary workers at its Jamshedpur plant.

MSI is also in the process of strengthening its research and development strength to 1,000 by 2010 as it seeks to develop its R&D capability equivalent to parent Suzuki Motor Corp in Japan.

"We will hire another 30 to 40 employees in our R&D team, taking the total to 740 by year-end," Siddiqui said.  Now, the company has 570 engineers at its research and development division.

• The Maruti Saga