Air India CMD assures staff over possible layoff

New Delhi: Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani on Tuesday reportedly assured employees that their interests would be “safeguarded” amid concerns among some employees over possible layoff following the government’s recent decision on disinvestment in the national carrier. The airline also officially dismissed as “baseless” an international news agency report that Air India was drawing up a proposal to offer voluntary buyouts (voluntary retirement scheme) to just over a third of its 40,000 employees.

“Air India and its subsidiaries have nearly 20000 employees. Among them Air India has only 11,500 employees. Air India management has not offered their employees for voluntary buyouts,” an Air India spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani was quoted by news agency PTI as saying, “I would like to reassure all my employees that during the process of disinvestment, the government and the airline management would like to safeguard your genuine and valid interests and ensure that suitable measures to this effect are put in place.” 

Mr Lohani also reportedly wrote that an ownership change will usher in a corporate culture where merit would be better rewarded.

Mr Lohani was further quoted as writing, “It is the firm conviction of the government that the process of disinvestment is only meant to make Air India a much stronger world class airline capable of competing with others successfully,” adding, “This decision is primarily an offshoot of the inability of the airline to service the huge accumulated debt of over Rs 50,000 crore.”

Meanhwile, a section of Air India employees today staged protest against the government's decision to privatise the national carrier, saying they were always ready for turnaround of the airline.

Around 300 employees, associated with the Air Corporation's Employees Union (ACEU), gathered outside the Air India office near the Indira Gandhi International airport here.

They chanted slogans opposing the decision taken by the Union Cabinet last month approving disinvestment of Air India. The ACEU is the biggest union of Air India employees and represents nearly 8,000 of the total 24,000 staff members. It is a grouping of non-technical staff of the airline. “We appeal to the government of India not to go for privatisation and disinvestment of Air India. We are always ready to turnaround Air India,” the ACEU said in its statement. The union also plans to hold similar protests in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai later this month, according to a union member.