Sanjiv Kapoor, CEO of Jet Airways, clarifies that no employees are being let go while also addressing staff pay reductions and LWP.

Sanjiv Kapoor, the CEO of Jet Airways, tweeted on Friday about the airline’s stalled revival and reaffirmed that no employees had been let go. He did, however, add that there were some temporary decisions that the airlines had to make because of things “outside our control.” “These are all good people who have been working hard to try to do what has never been done: revive an airline that has gone bankrupt,” said Kapoor in further clarification. However, some temporary tough decisions had to be made because the ownership transfer timeline was slipping due to factors outside of our control.

He also backed Jalan Kalrock Consortium, the airline’s promoters (JKC). The team working to revive Jet wasn’t to blame for Jet’s cash shortage and operations halt. With new funding, they are attempting to resurrect the airline in order to increase consumer choice, generate new employment opportunities, and preserve existing ones.

“They merit all of our admiration,” said Kapoor. Jalan Kalrock Consortium said in a statement earlier in the day that it is still fully committed to saving Jet Airways and that it has not violated the terms of the resolution plan. According to the statement, all prerequisites indicated in the resolution plan were satisfied by May 20, 2022, and the relevant documents in this respect were submitted to the NCLT on May 21, 2022, after the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) approval.

According to the court-approved settlement plan, JKC had to deposit Rs 150 crore with the lenders. The remaining sums, however, wouldn’t be paid out until the NCLT had completed its remaining steps in order to transfer ownership of the company to us. “We will invest only after the next steps of NCLT are fulfilled in terms of handing over the company to us,” it was further stated. The airline CEO also mentioned “temporary hard” decisions, which the promoters alluded to in order to keep the plans afloat.

Immediate action to manage our cash flow will help us secure the future while we wait to acquire the airline. In June 2021, the Resolution Plan for the Jalan Kalrock Consortium was authorised by the National Company Law Tribunal.

The airline’s Air Operator Certificate (AOC) was renewed on May 20 of this year, enabling it to restart operations. According to Ankit Jalan, a board member at the Jalan Kalrock Consortium, “the public has been tremendously supportive of Jet Airways’ comeback and the Jet Airways brand.”

The revival of Jet Airways will also open up new career opportunities for the airline’s former employees, who currently make up more than 60% of the current workforce, as well as for many more as the revived airline grows. After declaring bankruptcy, Jet Airways’ previous incarnation ceased operations in April 2019. Reports that Jet Airways would be reducing salaries and placing many workers on unpaid leave first surfaced on November 18.

In light of the uncertainties surrounding the start of business for Jet Airways, which has not yet resumed operations under its new owner, many employees will be placed on unpaid leave and have their incomes reduced. The measures, which take effect on December 1, were made public hours after the winning bidder, Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC), warned that managing cashflows might require “difficult” decisions in the near future. The once-famous airline ceased operations in April 2019, and in June of the previous year, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved JKC’s resolution plan as part of the insolvency procedure.

For the CEO and CFO, the pay reduction would be greater and could reach 50%. According to a source familiar with the situation, the temporary pay reductions and leave without pay (LWP) for the affected staff would take effect on December 1. Sanjiv Kapoor, the CEO of Jet Airways, stated in a series of tweets that less than 10% of the entire workforce would be on temporary leave without pay and one-third would experience temporary pay reductions.

He claims that “two-thirds of personnel are not at all impacted” and that no employees have been asked to leave. Some temporary tough decisions had to be made, he said, adding that the team trying to save Jet Airways was not to blame for the airline running out of money and ceasing operations. “…  Due to circumstances beyond our control, the transfer of ownership was delayed, forcing him to make difficult short-term decisions, he said.

 The most recent development also occurs as Austrian, Swiss, and Liechtenstein regulatory bodies are investigating Kalrock Capital promoter Florian Fritsch. Additionally, the consortium was ordered to pay the carrier’s employees’ unpaid provident fund and gratuity dues by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) last month. The airline was originally scheduled to debut in October 2022.

The longer-than-expected time being taken for the handover of the company as per the NCLT process may result in some challenging but necessary near-term The JKC said in a statement that while the airline is still not in our possession, decisions will be made to manage our cashflows to secure the The consortium stated that it has not violated any terms of the resolution plan and remains committed to the airline’s revival, without going into detail about the decisions that may be made to manage cashflows.

Additionally, it stated that the airline’s relaunch has made “significant progress.” All conditions precedent, as set forth in the resolution plan, were satisfied by May 20, 2022, after the NCLT’s approval, and the required filings in this respect were submitted before the NCLT on May 21, 2022.

The statement read, “JKC has deposited Rs 150 crore with the lenders as required under the court-approved resolution plan, with the remaining amounts to be invested only after the next steps of NCLT are satisfied in terms of handing over the company to us.”

The newly revived Jet Airways will also offer more career opportunities, including for the airline’s former employees, who currently make up more than 60% of the current workforce, and for many more as the newly revived airline grows, according to Ankit Jalan, a Board Member of the JKC.

Sanjiv Kapoor claimed in the statement that the airline has LOIs (Letters of Intent) in place for all of the services necessary to operate an airline, including engines, ground handling services, catering, call centers, and IT systems. The NCLAT ordered the consortium to pay the carrier employees’ unpaid gratuities and provident fund contributions last month. Additionally, the appellate tribunal had instructed the former airline resolution specialist to “compute the payments to be made to workers and employees within one month from today” and communicate the results to the consortium in order to initiate the payment.

edited and proofread by nikita sharma