Production at the facility has plunged dramatically in the past two days because of a strike over unmet demands of a section of the 1,500-strong workforce.
The Chakan plant, which had been producing 3,000 bikes a day for the past few months, manufactured only 600 units on Thursday, as only a small number of its workers reported to duty.
Confirming that the company could shift its production to other facilities, Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj told Business Standard: “If we take a view that this (labour issue) is going to extend over the next two months, we certainly can do that, and will do that.”
Bajaj Auto’s most technologically-advanced facility, Chakan has a manufacturing capacity of 1.2 million motorcycles a year and produces the high-margin Pulsar, besides the Avenger, KTM, and Kawasaki range of bikes.
In fact, the Pune-based auto firm has already started production of Pulsar bikes at its Aurangabad facility, which also makes three-wheelers.
About 100 units of the Pulsar were produced at Aurangabad on Thursday, the MD said.
“When you buy 80 per cent (of parts) from suppliers, they can supply that to any plant. The rest of welding, painting and assembling, too, can be done at another plant. “But I would do that only after waiting for a couple of weeks.
“(If) we think the situation is going to drag on for a few months, we obviously would do that,” he added.
For now, production of the KTM models, such as the Duke 125 (export model), the Duke 200 and the Duke 390,
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