Almost all airlines are in the red these days and Air India is no exception (‘Only one way to go’, January 30). Unfortunately, in the private sector, when a company is doing well, the entire credit goes to the top management — in bad times, however, the fault is assumed to be entirely that of the employees whom the company can hire and fire. The article seems to absolve the management and blames only the employees for the state Air India is in today.
I also think that Satyam is not really an exception — many private companies indulge in window-dressing. They find loopholes to avoid paying government dues. They have money to buy new aircraft but do not have money to pay the oil bills of the public sector companies. While their contribution to the public exchequer is negligible and they do not want government interference in any way, they want bailouts as soon as they incur losses.
It is also true that every private company in India, including banks, is always poaching from the public sector because public sector firms like Air India have the best talent.
And lastly, we know where America, the mecca of capitalism, has landed in spite of a hire and fire policy — which proves that the fault lies with the management and not with the employees.
Shantha Rao, via email
