Air India seeks Rs 1,100 crore more from government to implement VRS

Mumbai: In a bid to rationalise surplus manpower, Air India has asked the government for an additional Rs 1,100 crore to implement the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) that is aimed at reducing headcount by 5,000, which many believe is an unrealistic number.
The airline has sought this amount in addition to the Rs 10,600 crore that it is supposed to get this year. A part of this amount will come from the government as budgetary support ( Rs 4,000 crore), while the other ( Rs 6,600 crore) as a portion of a bailout package for the financially struggling airline. "We have asked the ministry of civil aviation for Rs 1,100 crore to implement VRS in Air India and they in turn will talk to finance ministry about it. The amount is needed so that we can make the compensation package attractive in order to bring down staff strength by 5,000," a senior AI executive told ET. The official, however, admitted that this was an "over ambitious number" and that there is a thought within the airline about lowering the VRS target of 5,000 employees.
13/09/12 Anindya Upadhyay/Economic Times

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Categories: Air India Sep 2012