Jakarta. Indonesia’s plan to import 105,000 units of Indian-made pickup trucks continues to catch flak, as major labor union KSPI warns that the procurement can cause job losses.

Indonesia’s state-run enterprise Agrinas Pangan Nusantara intends to import 105,000 pickup trucks from India to back the government’s Red and White Village Cooperatives program. The Southeast Asian country is home to a number of car manufacturing facilities, many of which are linked to Japanese automakers. But the import, which is reportedly valued at around Rp 24.66 trillion or $1.5 billion, is feared to deal a fatal blow to the domestic auto industry. 

KSPI — short for the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions — even warned of potential layoffs hitting the country. According to KSPI chair Said Iqbal, Indonesia can miss out on job creation opportunities if it doesn’t manufacture the trucks at home.

“If produced in Indonesia, it can absorb over 10,000 workers. And let’s not forget the component and maintenance industry, so this will lead to labor absorption,” Said Iqbal stated on Tuesday.

The job creation even extends to distribution and after-sales services.

“Our members at the automakers have come to us to express concerns. There are potential layoffs because the pickup imports will cause production to drop,” he added.

According to Said, the domestic industry has sufficient technological and production capacity to meet the operational vehicle needs. If Agrinas considers homegrown cars to be expensive, Said suggested some technical adjustments that can help make the vehicles more affordable. 

“Maybe simplify the digital dashboard or use a manual system instead of an automatic one. Just negotiate. Don’t rush into imports,” he said. 

Labor issues are sensitive in Indonesia as the country continues to witness massive layoffs. The Manpower Ministry reported that 88,519 people had lost their jobs throughout last year. However, KSPI recently claimed that the actual number of layoffs neared 100,000 in 2025. Estimates run by economic think-tank Celios showed that the $1.5 billion plan could put 330,000 workers at risk.

Earlier in the day, Agrinas’ boss Joao Angelo de Sousa Mota told reporters that the company had done nothing illegal.

“There are no specific rules to this procurement, so we are not breaking any rules here. Or perhaps the most extreme rule we've broken is that we are paying at a price that is far below the usual procurement price set by other agencies," Joao said.

His company will be buying the vehicles from Indian automakers Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors. 

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