TMS Ep614: Akasa Air, layoffs in 2024, rail stocks, semiconductor assembly

India’s youngest airline, it seems, is striking the right notes. Last year, Akasa Air was the best on-time-performing airline in five out of 12 months. It has just ordered 150 aircraft for around 20 billion dollars. And its CEO Vinay Dubey wants to put Akasa on the path to be one of the world’s top 30 biggest airlines by the turn of the decade. But there are challenges too. So is Akasa Air ready to fly higher? 

While most airlines are trying hard to retain pilots and other crew members, the situation is quite different in other sectors. Over 16,000 tech employees lost their jobs in 2023. It was a 15% jump from 2022. And within the first three weeks of January 2024, more than 7,500 employees got laid off globally with tech giants such as Google and Amazon announcing layoffs in select teams. It certainly doesn’t bode well for India too. So, what will 2024 hold for layoffs in India? 

Benchmark indices meanwhile crashed on Tuesday after some early gains. But rail-related stocks have been trading at record highs ahead of the interim Budget. The stocks have witnessed a phenomenal run in the last 10 months, gaining up to 600 per cent during the period. But, does such a steep rally leave further upside in these stocks? What should be your investment strategy? 

IT stocks too have extended gains on better than expected Q3 results. Meanwhile, IT giant HCL recently inked a pact with Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn to set up an outsourced assembly and testing facility in India. But what is outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing? Listen to this episode of the podcast for all the answers.