Tata-owned Air India has laid off more than 180 non-flying employees in the last few weeks as the staff could not utilise the voluntary retirement schemes (VRS) and re-skilling opportunities, news agency PTI reported.
As per a spokesperson of the airline, the employees in the non-flying functions have been assigned roles on the basis of organisational needs and individual merit.
“A comprehensive process has been followed to assess the suitability of all employees over the past 18 months. During this phase, there have also been multiple Voluntary Retirement Schemes and reskilling opportunities offered to employees,” the spokesperson told PTI.
The spokesperson further that one per cent of the employee base who were unable to utilise the VRS or re-skilling opportunities, had to be laid off. The company said it is honouring all contractual obligations. Although the spokesperson did not mention the exact number of staff that were laid off, PTI reported that it was little more than 180 employees.
Tata Group took over Air India in Januray 2022. At that time, Air India had more than 18,500 employees. Group airline Air India Express had around 6,200. The two airlines had a total workforce of 12,085 people, including contractual workers.
When Tata Group took over Air India, the government, as per the privatisation agreement, had said the new owners had to retain all employees of Air India for a year. The airline had earlier announced two rounds of voluntary retirement schemes which were availed by more than 2,500 employees.
As part of the multi-year transformational initiative Vihaan.AI, the spokesperson said one key aspect is to build an agile and effective organisational structure in line with the business model to support expansion and ambition, the spokesperson added.
Recent data shared by aviation analytics firm Cirium stated that since the Tata Group assumed control of Air India exactly two years ago on January 27, 2022, the airline has witnessed a 41.4 per cent increase in the number of flights operated.
The expansion has been more pronounced on the international front, where Air India initiated services on 24 new international routes, in contrast to just 12 new domestic routes during the same period.
The international expansion for Air India is driven by higher demand and more lucrative opportunities in that segment. While on the domestic front, Air India is facing intense competition, particularly with IndiGo holding a dominant position.
