Kingfisher seeks to stem staff exit, outlines financial restructuring

New Delhi: To win back employee confidence, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd’s new chief executive Sanjay Aggarwal has promised fresh staff benefits in a letter to employees.
He also outlined the progress of the airline’s financial restructuring and said Kingfisher is looking to raise $250-350 million (Rs.1,125-1,575 crore) through global depositary receipts (GDRs) by the end of January.
It’s obvious why employees are top priority for Aggarwal, who joined Kingfisher on 30 September from low-fare carrier SpiceJet Ltd.
About 150 pilots have exited the airline the past year—one-third of them in the past three months alone. Some senior executives—vice-president of training N.P. Puri; vice-president of marketing Vikram Malhotra; executive vice-president Ramki Sundaram; and vice-president of operations D.D. Gandhi—too have left.
“We are also looking at employee policies and benefits... we are working on a plan whereby every employee will be entitled to receive 20 one-way vouchers per year. These vouchers will allow you to buy a confirmed domestic ticket for Rs.2,500...,” Aggarwal said in his letter dated 10 December. That would mean about 120,000 tickets a year for Kingfisher’s 6,000-odd employees.
In the letter, which Mint has reviewed, Aggarwal also points to steps undertaken to lift the airline’s sagging fortunes.
15/12/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Categories: Kingfisher Dec 2010