Termination letters to all tomorrow?
Published on: Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is set to terminate at least one-third of its workforce in a matter of days as a last effort to save the flailing national carrier.MAS is expected terminate its entire staff and re-employ two-thirds of the 20,000 workers under new conditions.It added that Christoph Mueller, the newly hired chief executive, would be the only one spared, and that no government-linked company had ever sacked nearly everyone.
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It was previously reported that some 6,000 jobs would be cut, but sources said the figure would likely be closer to 8,000 and that job cuts would be made in stages over the space of a year.The flag carrier has suffered losses for the last three financial years and the twin tragedies of flights MH370 and MH17 last year made revival more difficult.Given the challenging environment in the aviation sector, MAS had previously warned that its weak financial performance was likely to continue.Executive chairman of consulting and audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi would be appointed to sign the termination letters, which will be sent out on Wednesday.
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On August 30 last year, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, MAS's sole shareholder, unveiled a radical plan to revive MAS that called for job cuts, a capital injection of up to RM6 billion and the creation of a new company to carry out the airline business.MAS Bhd (MAB) is expected to commence operations on September 1.
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Faiz Azmi, who was designated administrator for MAS effective May 25, is responsible for facilitating the transfer of selected assets and liabilities from MAS to MAB by September 1.Meanwhile, Khazanah said in a statement that MAS would continue to operate until August 31, after which MAB would take over business operations.Under the restructuring plan, two letters will be given out: the termination letter and an offer to join MAB or an invitation to report to the Corporate Development Centre (CDC), where exiting MAS employees will have access to re-skilling training and placement services.It was also reported that Mueller was looking at a tough business plan for the new airline with even the 3,799 supply contracts being reviewed.Those terminated would receive compensation but the amount might not be what was stipulated under the collective agreement.Those rehired will also be given a sign-on bonus, it said.MAS reportedly completed a comprehensive talent assessment in February this year, which saw its top 500 senior executives undergo a three-hour behavioural interview with an independent consultant.In April, the reported that Khazanah would not bow to pressure from workers' unions to scrap its restructuring plans.On March 20 this year, Khazanah announced that MAS would issue employment termination letters with three months' notice to all its employees on June 1, instead of the earlier scheduled date of April 1.MAB will also issue employment offer letters to selected MAS employees on the same date.Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong in a statement, said part of MAS' restructuring exercise, would cause "major economic havoc" if private companies decided to emulate it."MAS, and its owner Khazanah, are telling the whole country that the best way to sack workers is to shut down the current set-up without the necessary compensation via the conventional voluntary separation schemes (VSS)," Liew said."It is not uncommon for companies to terminate workers with compensation but to terminate the entire company and rehire in a new company is such a cynical manipulation of labour laws and Khazanah's role as a government-linked corporation."Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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