WITH the COVID-19 pandemic taking a toll on global economy, many businesses, such as airliners, have to take drastic measures to keep their businesses afloat.
Malindo Airways Sdn Bhd is now one the airliners that has to make a difficult decision.
In an internal memo issued yesterday, spotted by FocusM, its CEO Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri said the airline has no choice but to retrench some of its staff due to volatile business condition.
“The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be unrelenting. Owing to the border closures, we are unable to fly abroad. To make matters worse, domestic travels are also hit.
“For now, we are only getting about 10% of our pre-pandemic revenue and our fleet size today is 50% of what it was earlier and even with reduced fleet, most of the aircraft are on long-term parking. Therefore, we have no choice but to take drastic steps in order to stay afloat,” he said.
It was said that Malindo may be looking at retrenching about 2,200 of its staff members.
Mushafiz said the affected staff will notified of “the termination compensation benefits including company asset handover process”, adding it will assist affected staff via Socso’s Employment Insurance Scheme.
“We are also currently talking to service providers who will be able to assist displaced colleagues with retraining and job placements,” he said.
Rehire former staff once business improves
Speaking to FocusM, Mushafiz said he while he was upset with the decision, the company had no choice due to the volatile economic situation.
“We embarked on several cost cutting measures since March to mitigate its effects. We thought things will get better in the fourth quarter of this year but COVID-19 cases soared again,” he said.
Among the cost cutting measures Malindo has undertaken include grounding some fleets, suspend new hires, readjusting salaries and allowances, terminating contract staff and suspension of several medical benefits.
“For now, we are going reduce our fleet size to just five Boeing 737 jets and six ATR turboprops,” said Mushafiz.
On Malindo’s future plans, Mushafiz said the airline industry will only improve after COVID-19 is no longer a threat.
“We are waiting for the international borders to reopen. For that to happen, we need vaccines to be ready,” he said.
Mushafiz, however, said Malindo will look into hiring its retrenched staff once the industry gets back up on its feet.
“When our business gets better, we will prioritise our former staff to be rehired. I will definitely call them back,” he said. – Oct 29, 2020
