Small commercial vehicle maker Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd (PVPL), in an industry-first initiative, has introduced an all-women workforce on its assembly line at its Baramati facility to assemble its Apé Electrik range of products.
The female workforce at Piaggio’s Baramati plant in Maharashtra assembles all its electric models — Apé E-City and Apé E-Xtra, which come in both fixed and swappable battery solutions.
Piaggio has inducted these female workforce from various technical institutes located in and around Baramati, the company said in a statement.
These women were trained on the safety procedures, usage of tools, electric vehicles and the latest technology related to motor and e-box before being introduced to the assembly line.
The company said it has redesigned the workplace to make it more ergonomically suited for women.
Piaggio believes that understanding the technology and acquiring the right skillsets are the criteria to bring employees on board and not their gender, it added.
This initiative has created employment for women in Baramati which clearly fights the stereotype of women working in manufacturing plants, according to the release.
Women working at the facility are responsible for quality control checks, fitting, assembly, electrical, and overall material management.
PVPL Chairman and Managing Director Diego Graffi said, “In line with our group philosophy, we have created the EV assembly line that is fully operated by a female workforce. This is only the starting point and we have a long way to go.”
Piaggio will have inclusion of more women at the assembly line, plant premises and offices, going forward, he said, adding this is not just to empower women but also to bring workforce equality in the auto sector which was long due.
“Diversity at the workplace is very important as it fosters innovation and growth,” said Pooja Bansal, Head of Human Resources at PVPL.
“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,” she added.
