Maruti to hire 3,000 staff over 3 years

[Kalyan]

Maruti Suzuki, will hire 3,000 people over the next three years as the leading Indian carmaker expands its operations in the fast-growing market, a senior official said on Friday.

S Y Siddiqui, head of human resources at Maruti, which is 54.2 per cent owned by Suzuki Motor Corp, said the company would add 500 staff to its research and development (R&D) and design departments, including about 20 from Europe and Japan.

"The idea behind hiring from overseas is driven by their specialised skill sets in design. We are looking at an R&D strength of 1,500 people by 2012 as by then we will be fully independent in R&D," he said.

Maruti, which currently has 7,500 employees, had hired about 10 people from Detroit in 2009/10 for specialised designs, he said on the sidelines of a conference.

The company sells one of every two cars in India and is on track to hit one million vehicle sales in the current fiscal year to March on the back of a rebounding economy.

India's monthly car sales hit a record high in January as customers bought vehicles ahead of possible tax increases in the February 26 budget.