An estimated 4,500 Air India employees have opted for the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) offered by the new management, said people with knowledge of the matter. This is a key part of the Tata Group's strategy to infuse fresh energy by hiring new talent across operations in the airline. It's working on revamping the airline to cut costs, improve productivity and revitalise archaic systems with a digital culture, executives said.
When it was acquired, Air India had about 13,000 employees, of which 8,000 were permanent staff and the rest contractual.
"This is work in progress and we all are in for the long transformation haul," said one of the people cited above. "We are also buying topnotch aircraft and we also need topnotch talent with international experience to handle the new engines and machines."
"Fleet upgradation, more destinations, world-class hospitality inflight or on ground and many such areas are being worked upon," the person said. The Indian carrier is reported to be considering the purchase of Boeing's narrow-body planes alongside Airbus A350 jets as part of fleet renewal.
Air India declined to comment on what it said were internal issues.
Tata executives said Air India needed talent with the right attitude and aptitude to compete with international rivals.
Air India had announced the VRS for permanent employees of Air India in June and relaxed the age eligibility criteria to 40 from 55. In addition, the company announced an ex-gratia amount for employees who apply for voluntary retirement between June 1, 2022, and Jul 31, 2022.
"We are right-sizing the organisation, roping in new talent, apart from upgrading the quality of aircraft and all this needs talent with the right skills and abilities to build a superior airline," said an executive. "It is work in progress and needs patience as we do that."
21/07/22 Kala Vijayaraghavan/Economic Times
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