Air India, which the Tata Group owns, has announced a voluntary retirement plan (VRS) for permanent employees who have completed 55 years of service with the airline or 20 years of continuous service with the airline. This decision will allow the airline to lay off approximately 3,000 staff.
In addition, the VRS eligibility age has been lowered from 55 to 40 for some cabin crew, clerical, and unskilled employees. According to an order signed by Air India chief human resources officer Suresh Dutt Tripathi on June 1, “an ex-gratia sum would also be paid to the aforementioned personnel seeking VRS from June 1 to July 31 as a one-time benefit.”
However, there is no equivalent provision for pilots, and the demand for pilots is expanding as airlines expand. Air India said on Monday that it is accepting applications for senior trainee co-pilots from personnel under the age of 40 who have a current Airbus A320 endorsement.
“Further to the foregoing, employees who apply for Voluntary Retirement between June 1 and June 30, 2022, will receive an additional incentive in addition to the Ex-Gratia sum,” the order stated.
