NEW DELHI: In a morale boost for employees, loss-making Air India on Friday said it does not expect any layoffs even as the airline has been battling a series of black swan events for a year now.
But the annual increases “will be postponed by at least a quarter in light of the unstable economic environment.” In a town hall speech on Friday, outgoing CEO Campbell Wilson and HR head Ravindra Kumar JP are learned to have spoken about “challenging times” and the need for employees to put discretionary spending on hold and defer non-critical expenses to cut costs.The city council follows an AI board meeting on Thursday during which cost-cutting measures were discussed as the airline lost over Rs 22,000 crore in the last financial year due to multiple factors, including the closure of Pakistani airspace since Operation Sindoor, then the tragic Ahmedabad AI 171 crash, the US-Iran war that has further lengthened western routes coupled with a sharp rise in jet fuel prices and a collapse in the rupee.
Sources say the issue of Wilson’s successor was not finalized during Thursday’s board meeting.The chief human resources officer reportedly said that AI will continue to pay variable pay for fiscal year 2026, and will continue with planned promotions while annual raises will be delayed by at least one quarter due to the current uncertainty. “We are not anticipating layoffs,” Kumar said.Wilson stressed the need to reduce costs. He urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where possible, and postpone non-critical expenses. “There should be a sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages,” he said.Wilson said that although Amnesty International did not expect to make profits in the last fiscal year, the actual losses were more than it expected.
reconnaissance
Do you think Air India will successfully overcome its financial challenges without layoffs?
