Crew crunch? Air India offers cabin crew to extend their retirement release date
Air India offered its cabin crew – who opted for the company’s voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) – the option to extend their release date to January 31, 2023. Earlier, the deadline was set for November 30, 2022.
India Today got access to the latest communication from the company’s Human Resources department to the cabin crew. In the notice, the crew members who have chosen to leave the company seeking voluntary retirement have been given the option of three release dates: November 30, 2022, December 31, 2022 or January 31, 2023.
The notice, however, added that “the actual date of release will be at the discretion of the management”. It gave the crew members time till November 22 to convey their choice of date to the company.
Sources told India Today that approximately 4,500 Air India staff have opted for the VRS, which was offered by the new airline management. The scheme was seen as a move to trim headcount and infuse new energy into the team.
Air India announced the voluntary retirement scheme for permanent employees in June this year. When Tata Group acquired the airline from the government, Air India had 13,000 employees, of whom 8,000 were permanent staff.
