Indian LCC IndiGo to bid adieu to 10% of its employees

IndiGo, the India-based low-cost carrier, announced that it will reduce its workforce by 10% as the company aims to weather the current pandemic.

“And from where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices, in order to sustain our business operations,” stated the chief executive officer (CEO) of IndiGo Ronojoy Dutta.

The airline “will need to bid a painful adieu” to 10% of its total workforce, added Dutta.

Flying a small percentage of its fleet, the airline tried a number of measures in order to avoid involuntary layoffs, including pay cuts and furloughs, however, the decline in revenues was too much, according to the CEO.

In its latest earnings call, the carrier‘s chief financial officer (CFO) Aditya Pande indicated that the company aims to reduce its employee costs by 25% by the year‘s end. In FY2020, the airline‘s employee costs were at $588 million (INR43.9 billion), the second-largest expense throughout the year.

For the affected employees, the company has offered a severance package that includes notice pay, severance payments, medical insurance, and further career support.

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, IndiGo made headlines when it made a record-breaking order for 300 Airbus A320 family aircraft, including the A321XLR. As of March 31, 2020, it had 262 aircraft in its fleet.