Tuesday June 23, 2009
NEW DELHI: India's national carrier Air India said Monday it plans to slash staff costs by more than 15 percent as it struggles to cope with a cash crunch. A statement from the state-run carrier said it was aiming for a more than 100 million dollar reduction in annual employee salaries, from the 625 million dollars it currently spends.
The company has given an internal committee until mid-July to look at restructuring wage agreements and other bonuses linked to employee performance. "Besides reduction in wage cost, Air India is also looking at improving productivity of employees, (the) elimination of restrictive work practices and reducing wasteful expenditure," the company said. Spokesman Jitendra Bhargava said layoffs were considered a "last resort."
"We are not looking at layoffs at all at the moment," he said. A combination of high fuel prices, fewer passengers and the global financial meltdown have left Air India with an estimated 800 million dollars in losses for the past year and debt of four billion dollars, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
Last week the airline asked its top managers to forgo one month's salary as part of efforts to survive the crisis, just days after delaying the payment of June salaries for regular employees. The management of the struggling state-run airline - which merged with government-run domestic carrier Indian Airlines last year - sent a notice to its employees earlier in the week saying it would defer 73 million dollars in monthly wages until July 15.
(AFP)
NEW DELHI: India's national carrier Air India said Monday it plans to slash staff costs by more than 15 percent as it struggles to cope with a cash crunch. A statement from the state-run carrier said it was aiming for a more than 100 million dollar reduction in annual employee salaries, from the 625 million dollars it currently spends.
The company has given an internal committee until mid-July to look at restructuring wage agreements and other bonuses linked to employee performance. "Besides reduction in wage cost, Air India is also looking at improving productivity of employees, (the) elimination of restrictive work practices and reducing wasteful expenditure," the company said. Spokesman Jitendra Bhargava said layoffs were considered a "last resort."
"We are not looking at layoffs at all at the moment," he said. A combination of high fuel prices, fewer passengers and the global financial meltdown have left Air India with an estimated 800 million dollars in losses for the past year and debt of four billion dollars, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
Last week the airline asked its top managers to forgo one month's salary as part of efforts to survive the crisis, just days after delaying the payment of June salaries for regular employees. The management of the struggling state-run airline - which merged with government-run domestic carrier Indian Airlines last year - sent a notice to its employees earlier in the week saying it would defer 73 million dollars in monthly wages until July 15.
(AFP)
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