The AI board on Tuesday discussed the feasibility of offering voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to some of its 29,000 employees, as the national carrier fights for survival in the face of mounting debt.
Executive Director (industrial relations) Vinita Bhandari made a presentation to the board members about the revival road map, airline sources said. Voluntary retirement scheme, funding requirements and selling old aircraft, among other issues, were discussed at the meet that lasted for more than four hours, they said.
The meet was chaired by CMD Rohit Nandan and Joint Secretary (aviation) Prashant Sukul.
AI has one of the highest employee-aircraft ratios in the industry globally. With just under 140 aircraft and nearly 29,000 employees, AI’s ratio stands at 207 employees per plane.
The VRS is part of both the Dharmadhikari Commit-tee report on human resource policies and the turnaround plan the management had submitted to the government for the Rs 30,000-crore cash infusion by the centre.
Early this year, the government had agreed to infuse about Rs 30,000 crore over the next eight years to turnaround the carrier that has a debt of over Rs 67,000 crore.
