- Indian low-cost airline IndiGo said today it would be introducing a three-month leave with pay cuts. CEO Ronojoy Dutta says the company will now need to enforce pay cuts for senior workers, beginning this month.
The Coronavirus pandemic has affected airlines the hardest, as domestic and foreign travel has come to a halt due to closed borders.
Indian low-cost airline IndiGo said today it would be introducing a three-month leave with pay cuts. CEO Ronojoy Dutta says the company will now need to enforce pay cuts for senior workers, beginning this month, according to PTI.
“No choice but to introduce pay-cuts from May. We have to introduce a restricted, graded leave without pay plan for May, June & July. Leave without pay may vary from 1.5-5 days depending on the category of employees. Level A workers, who make up a majority of our staff, will not be affected,” Dutta said. Advertising.
According to the report the company paid workers maximum wages in March and April.
It comes after IndiGo said they would slash employee salaries by 25 percent, beginning next month — including CEO Ronojoy Dutta — citing ‘precipitous revenue decline.’ Salaries accounted for more than 10 percent of IndiGo’s overall expenditure — which spent 3,210 crores on paychecks last year.
IndiGo, India’s largest airline, announced a 15-20 percent decline in regular bookings even before the lockdown came into effect, Aviation consultancy chief executive CAPA India told ET on March 14.
IndiGo isn’t alone. GoAir and Spicejet have cut employee wages through positions for the March month — including the chairman. Spicejet reported in March it would slash employees’ salaries by 10 percent -30 percent across positions. The airline also said the pay reduction also applies to Chairman Ajay Singh, who will be taking 30 percent lower pay for the month.
Meanwhile, GoAir has also said it would slash salaries across rates, saying it has no other choice. This also said that the airline was considering a phased 20 percent pay cut for workers.
Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of the Indian Aviation Regulator has extended the validity of pilot licenses to be renewed in the next 90 days as the lockdown has suspended the flight crew training. Even the validity of medical assessment certificates, aircraft quality certificates, skill check certificates
