AirAsia is said to be in the midst of retrenching its workforce, according to a report by Astro Awani which was published earlier today. The site revealed that an estimated total of 111 crew members, 172 pilots and 50 engineers have been laid off.
A source familiar with the matter had confirmed with us that the retrenchment exercise is indeed in effect starting today on 4 June 2020. They added that the number of those laid off stated in the aforementioned report is accurate, although not including non-airline personnel under the AirAsia brand who are also affected.
The company is said to have held separate meetings for each department earlier today to announce the move, with several key AirAsia members present. The source revealed that the decision was made several months earlier but had been postponed, and that workforce retrenchment would only be considered as a last resort.
Those affected are not limited to AirAsia’s Malaysian employees but also to its workforce across the globe, they added. Employees that are retrenched will be notified personally by email within 24 hours, and are promised to be provided with compensation from the company.
At this time, AirAsia’s operations are allowed to resume but only limited to domestic flights within Malaysia, Thailand, and India. However, its branches in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines have yet to receive clearance from their respective authorities.
The company has yet to release an official statement regarding the retrenchment.
(Header image: Airbus)
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