Air India to send some employees on leave without pay for up to 5 years

The board expects that the move will save around Rs 10 crore per month

Air India has begun a cost-cutting drive and will send around 600 employees on furlough in the first such move by the state-owned carrier. 

The airline’s board approved on July 7 the scheme of ‘Leave Without Pay’ ranging from six months to five years. While the scheme is voluntary in nature, if it doesn’t get a good response from employees, the board has authorised Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal to forcibly send employees on leave. Employees who opt for the scheme will have to notify their departmental heads by August 15.

Air India has 9,426 employees on its payroll, of which