Air India makes another voluntary retirement offer for non-flying staff

Air India has announced a second round of voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its permanent general cadre employees, and clerical and unskilled staff. Eligible members for the offer will be those who have completed minimum five years of continuous service and are aged above 40 years.

At present, Air India has around 11,000 employees including its flying and non-flying staff. Out of these, 2,100 of them would be eligible to apply for the voluntary retirement offer. The Tata group took over Air India last January. In June, 2022, the airline had announced its first phase of voluntary retirement covering cabin crew, clerical and unskilled categories. 

At that time, around 1,500 staff members had opted for voluntary retirement offer which was 43 per cent of about 4,200 eligible members. Last November, the airline allowed its cabin crew who had opted for voluntary retirement to extend their tenure until January amid a shortage of cabin crew.

“We had launched the first phase of voluntary retirement in June 2022, and subsequently there has been a request from employees for extending the additional benefit of voluntary retirement to other permanent employees as well,” the airline’s chief human resources officer Suresh Dutt Tripathi said in a staff note.

Employees who apply for voluntary retirement till April 30 will be provided an ex gratia amount as one time benefit, the airline informed in a communication.

“Eligible employees who apply upto March 31 will receive Rs 1,00,000 over and above the ex gratia amount,” Tripathi wrote. 

In September last year, Air India announced the transformation plan Vihaan.AI which focuses on various goals to be achieved over a five-year period. The plan is aimed at putting Air India on a path of sustained growth, profitability and market leadership.