Ahead of its merger with Air India, full-service carrier Vistara on Monday announced voluntary retirement as well as voluntary separation schemes (VSS) for its non-flying staff.
The move comes weeks after Air India announced similar schemes. Vistara had informed its employees about the same through an email a few days ago, airline sources said.
As per the message, permanent employees with five continuous years of experience can avail the VRS scheme, while staff with less than five years of experience are eligible for VSS. Apart from the VRS and VSS, the airline will extend health and other benefits to the affected employees, sources said. The deadline for Vistara’s schemes has been set for August 23.The development comes after a comprehensive fitment exercise was conducted across the two airlines in consultation with global firms like BCG and Deloitte.
FE was the first to report that the Tata Group-promoted airlines planned to introduce VRS and VSS for around 600 employees whose roles are expected to be duplicated after Vistara’s merger with Air India. However, sources clarified the number of affected staff may vary as the Tata Group airlines are trying to offer some employees new roles by upskilling them and placing others in different group companies. At present, Air India has around 19,000 employees, while Vistara has around 6,500.