Khazanah stays firm on MAS downsizing
Published on: Friday, April 24, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the parent company of Malaysia Airlines System Bhd (MAS), is remaining firm on its stance that the national airline's operating capacity will be reduced to 14,000 workers, an ideal operating capacity for an airline.However, its Managing Director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said the decision on whether to lay off about 6,000 employees would depend on the new management under Christoph Mueller, who will assume the post of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the new company, Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS NewCo), on May 1.MAS' operating capacity currently stands at 20,000 employees.ADVERTISEMENT "There might be an option where we lay off just 6,000 people and leave the balance of 14,000 for the NewCo, or there is a possibility of downsizing up to 8,000 people and add another 2,000. "Either way, we keep our stance that the ideal size is 14,000 employees," he told a media briefing in conjunction with the Invest Malaysia 2015 forum here Thursday.He said the restructuring of MAS is currently progressing as planned but there has been a bit of a delay as Mueller personally wants to choose and evaluate his own employees for the NewCo.Azman said Mueller and his management team will be focusing on refurbishment of the NewCo and work towards the success of the airline with the current capacity.ADVERTISEMENT Khazanah had, at the end of August, announced its 12-point plan to resuscitate the national airline which would see 6,000 jobs cut across the board and result in the emergence of MAS NewCo, from its existing workforce of 20,000 employees.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
An Outplacement Centre (OPC) would help transition employees who have been identified under three categories – early retirees, job seekers and potential entrepreneurs.
ADVERTISEMENT
Despite the OPC, Azman said the 6,000 employees to be laid off will have the chance to be absorbed into the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) programme, a collaboration between Khazanah and several international companies. – Bernama