APM Terminals to close CFS at JNPT after violence

September 28, 2018: APM Terminals is in the process of shutting down one of its container freight stations (CFS) at Mumbai’s Nhava Sheva port after the CFS faced mob attacks in two separate incidents recently by retrenched workers. The layoffs were done due to a dip in business caused due to introduction of direct port delivery (DPD) in early 2017.

According to a ET report, Ajit Venkataraman, managing director for inland services south Asia said that the facility will be shut down Thursday night. The closure will impact 500 contractual workers, giving rise to concerns over further violence. In February this year, 99 contract workers were handed over pink slips to streamline business as part of overall cost cutting measures.

In retaliation, some retrenched contract workers reportedly attacked the buses carrying CFS employees of APM Terminals Inland Services on August 3 and September 10.

CFS is a facility wherein freight shipments are consolidated or de-consolidated and stocked between transport legs. With the introduction of DPD, the cargo at Nhava Sheva is transferred straight from the terminal to the place of delivery, instead of initially holding the goods at a container freight station. A practice adopted by many countries, DPD reduces congestion and brings down dwell time at the ports.