Malaysia Airlines May Cut Jobs By 25%

About a quarter of Ma
laysia Airlines 20,000 staff are likely to lose their jobs under a restructuring plan for the loss-making airline hit by two separate jet disasters this year.
The restructuring plan, due to be unveiled later this week will include route cuts as well as the loss of up to 5,000-6,000 jobs, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Reuters reported the airline’s majority owner, Malaysia State Fund Khazanah is expected to announce the plan to restructure the firm on August 28, Khazanah which owns 69.17 percent of the airline said earlier this month it is taking MAS private in a USD$435 million deal.
MAS has announced second quarter results on August 28, that are expected to show losses expanding. MAS has been struggling with a slump in business since the unexplained disappearance of flight MH1370 in March tipped the airline into its worst quarterly performance in two years.
Its problems deepened on July 17, when its flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine killing all 298 people on board. The airline is now set to post one of the weakest performance in April -June quarter, due to canceled bookings, weak passenger yields an high overheads.
Prime Minister Najib Razak who is chairman of Khazanah still has to sign off on a restructuring plan for the carrier that is politically sensitive.
While 5,000-6,000 job losses would signal a drastic downsizing of the firm, analysts have said many staff could be offered jobs at other government-run firms to soften the blow to them and their families. About 13,000 MHS workers belong to the MAS Employees Union.
The airline and its key stakeholders are in talks with banks for a strategic overhaul that would include the partial sale of its engineering unit and an upgrade of its fleet.
The plan is also expected to bring in a new chief executive and replace other senior executives.