The top management of the Jet Airways team has taken a voluntary pay cut of 25 per cent, effective December 8. Employees earning a gross salary of over Rs 75,000 a month will take a graduated wage cut over the next 12 months.
For pilots, this will be in the form of a combination of wage cut and allowance rationalisation, which will bring the contribution of pilots in line with the company's other employees, the airline said in a media statement.
On November 23, employees earning more than Rs 75,000 a month agreed to take a graded pay-cut. The Indian pilots, however, asked the airline to lay-off 240 expatriate pilots, who earn 50 per cent more than their Indian counterparts.
As part of a larger cost-cutting plan, Jet is curtailing its network and trimming costs to cope with declining air traffic in a slowing economy and the aftershocks of a crude oil rally.
Jet is rationalising routes, frequency and capacity in line with demand, pruning long-haul expansion plans, renegotiating contracts and payment schedules with its vendors and pushing back new aircraft deliveries.
The airline is also trying to lease out surplus aircraft, letting go of excess foreign pilots in accordance with the terms of their contract, trimming executive ranks by reducing expatriate executives in India and overseas.
Jet is also reviewing and rationalising perks and allowances across the company, enforcing a freeze in recruitment, eliminating overtime, identifying and eliminating wasteful activities.
