United Spirits shuts down its operations in India
The company owned by Diageo, United Spirits on Thursday said it has shut down its manufacturing units amidst the coronavirus lockdown, declared the government.
The company is not able to make an assessment of the financial impact of this currently.
“In compliance with the nationwide lockdown announced by the Honourable Prime Minister on March 24, 2020, all the offices and manufacturing units of the Company will remain closed,” said USL in a regulatory filing.
It further said: This shutdown will stay in effect until April 14, 2020, subject to further directives issued by the respective government authorities and the company’s assessment of the prevailing situation.”
Last week, Diageo announced that it will produce around 3,00,000 litres of hand sanitiser across 15 manufacturing units for use by public healthcare workers and donate 500,000 litres ENA(Extra Neutral Alcohol) to the sanitiser industry to enable the production of more than two million units (250 ml each) of hand sanitisers.
The company will also support the hospitality sector with a Rs 3 crore healthcare cover to bartenders and donate approximately 150,000 masks to five state’s public health departments. This overall initiative has been appreciated by the government and the liquor industry.
“With the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in India over the past few days, the company has been closely monitoring the situation and managing its operations while taking necessary preventive measures,” the company said.
