From today, the workforce on its assembly line at Baramati factory that makes Apé Electrik range of products will be all women, Piaggio Vehicles, a 100 % subsidiary of the Italian Piaggio Group, has said.
The female workforce at the plant assembles all its electric models - Apé E-City & Apé E-Xtra, which comes in both fixed and swappable battery solutions.
Accordingly, the company has redesigned the workplace to make it more ergonomically suited for women. The company believes that understanding the technology and acquiring the right skillsets are the criteria to bring employees on board and not their gender.
Inducted from various technical institutes located in and around Baramati, these women were trained on the safety procedures, usage of tools, electric vehicles and the latest technology related to BMS, motor, E-box before being introduced to the assembly line.
Women working in the facility are responsible for quality control checks, fitting, assembly, electrical, and overall material management.
Diego Graffi, Chairman and Managing Director, Piaggio Vehicles, said, “In line with our group philosophy, we have created the EV assembly line that is fully operated by a female workforce. I want to remark that this is only the starting point, and we have a long way to go. We will have inclusion of more women at the assembly line, plant premises, and offices. This is not just to empower women but also to bring workforce equality in the auto sector which was long due.”
Pooja Bansal, Head HR, Piaggio Vehicles, said that diversity at the workplace is very important as it fosters innovation and growth. The strategy at Piaggio is to provide all women employees economic independence, parity of opportunities which includes career development, and most important- escalating them to managerial and leadership positions. “We intended not only to have women employees and train them only for manufacturing and the shop floor but hire and train women employees across the business value chain,” she added.