Demonstrators outside the Honda outlet on Wednesday. Picture by Soumen Bhattacharjee

About 120 workers of Windsor Honda demonstrated outside its outlet at Kaikhali on VIP Road on Wednesday to protest the company’s decision to shut down the dealership on June 16. Honda is slated to launch its premium hatchback Jazz in the city on that day.

“We have decided to close the unit as losses were mounting and we are not in a position to continue its operation,” said Varun Khanna, the chief executive officer of Windsor Honda.

The workers claimed that the dealership was being shut down so that the plot could be used for real estate development.

“The company was not making losses. In March alone, we sold over 54 cars and the company earned a net profit of nearly Rs 10 lakh. We were also given cash incentives that month,” said an agitating worker.

The unit’s workshop was handling a high volume of work, said another worker. “We have the latest equipment and skilled technicians. Many of them were trained in the Honda factory. There was no dearth of service work,” he added.

The agitating workers were joined by CPM and Trinamul activists.

Another Honda dealership in the city, Imperial Honda, is also facing financial problems. Shruti Bagaria, the proprietor, said: “We stopped operating from AJC Bose Road in April. We could not afford the high rent following the slowdown in the automobile market and are shifting the showroom close to our factory at Taratala.”

The third and the newest Honda dealership in the city, Pinnacle Honda on the EM Bypass, is doing well. Sanjay Lamba, the chief operating officer of Pinnacle Honda, said: “We are selling 150 units per month. Jazz will boost sales further.”

Bagaria, however, expressed doubts about the prospects of the Rs 7-lakh car in Calcutta.