Kingfisher Airlines' 500 employees leave as revival hopes fade
With no signs of revival, the grounded Kingfisher Airlines is witnessing an exodus of employees. In the last four to five months, 500-550 people have quit the airline, two informed sources told FE. Managerial staff, ground staff, engineers and pilots are among employees who have put in their papers.
“There is no guarantee the airline will resume flying, so a lot of us have left for other opportunities,” said a former managerial level employee. “Me and some former colleagues will get the full and final settlement from the airline. The good thing is, we have found jobs in other industries.”
Kingfisher Airlines declined to comment on the story. An email questionnaire sent to the Vijay Mallya-promoted airline remained unanswered.
However, while managerial-level staff and ground support staff have found new jobs, the situation is not the same with engineers and pilots. “There are fewer exits among engineers and pilots,” said a former Kingfisher engineer. “The industry has more engineers and pilots than available jobs.”
Out of its total staff strength of 4,000 in October, 500 were engineers and pilots. Less than 50 of them have quit since then. While most of the exiting ground staff have found jobs in other airlines, the managers have shifted to other industries.
“Perhaps with the entry of AirAsia and expansion of IndiGo, more jobs may come up. However, as of now, things look bleak,” said the engineer quoted above, who is looking for jobs in domestic and middle-east airlines.
Kingfisher has been grounded since October 1, 2012 and its
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