Merger pains: Air India announces VRS scheme for permanent ground staff

As a part of its merger with Vistara, Air India on Wednesday announced a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its permanent ground staff.

Vistara, a 51:49 joint venture of the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, is scheduled to merge into Air India by the end of this year. An Air India executive said the merged entity would need fewer ground staff and therefore, the “optimisation” process has been initiated. In a message sent to ground staff, Air India said: “We are announcing a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for employees with a minimum of five years of continuous service at Air India and a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) for employees with less than five years of continued service.”

Business Standard has reviewed the message. Air India did not immediately respond to the newspaper’s request for a comment on this matter. In its message to ground staff, Air India stated that all permanent ground staff — excluding pilots, cabin crew any licensed role holder — would be eligible for these schemes. The window to participate in the two schemes would remain open till August 16. The airline stated that the “acceptance” of applications and the “release date” would be decided by the management.

Sources stated around 500-600 employees, out of a total of 18,000 from the carriers, are expected to be retired or separated. The airline is making efforts to retain as many employees as possible, with some being absorbed into other Tata Group companies.

However, certain positions have become redundant due to the merger. Ground staff in an airline is generally referred to those employees who handle tasks on the ground. But, the “ground staff” mentioned in the Air India message also includes those who work at the corporate headquarter, including customer service, baggage handling, security checks, ramp service, and cargo operations. They assist passengers, manage luggage, perform security screenings, and coordinate with flight crews and other airport personnel.

Vistara is being merged into Air India to create a single full-service carrier. Concurrently, Air India's subsidiaries, AIX Connect and Air India Express, are merging to form a unified low-cost airline.

Earlier this month, Air India had announced the completion of harmonising operating procedures across key functions for the four Tata Group airlines, including the alignment of supporting manuals. This was a crucial step in the ongoing merger process.