Amid Stake Sale Move In Air India, Airline Says No To Appointments, Promotions

Air India has stopped giving promotions for its employees and recruiting new personnel as the government prepares for the disinvesment of the debt-laden airline, an official said , reported PTI.

Earlier, It was announced that Home Minister Amit Shah will head a reconstituted group of ministers (GoM) on Air India disinvestment and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has been dropped from the panel, sources said.

The panel, which is to work out modalities for sale of Air India, will now have four ministers – Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

When the panel, named Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM), was first constituted in June 2017, it had five members and was headed by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The government is expected to soon start the disinvesment process for Air India, which has a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore.

For the disinvesment process, the official said the airline’s books of accounts till July 15, have been closed and those financials would be used while seeking bids.

Promotions and fresh appointments have also been frozen ahead of the stake sale for Air India, the official added.

The airline has around 10,000 permanent employees.

There was no immediate comment from Air India. Query sent to Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola remained unanswered.

The government is looking to complete the Air India stake sale in the next four to five months.

Air India is currently making a revenue of Rs 15 crore everyday.