Jet Airways pilots demand removal of expatriate pilots

In a move to cut costs, India’s largest domestic airlines, Jet Airways (India) Limited (BOM: 532617), proposed 20% salary cut of its pilots, engineers and other staff. However, the pilots have not agreed with their proposal and made a counter proposal to the management that it should get rid of all its expatriate pilots. The pilots are saying that they will negotiate after the company removes all its 200 expatriate pilots because they are paid 40%-50% more than domestic pilots. The Hindu reports:

The Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots (SWIP), a pilots body of Jet Airways, is understood to have conveyed to the Jet management that all expat pilots should be removed. "We will not settle for less...all the expat pilots must go (from the airline)," a senior Jet Airways pilot told PTI here today on condition of strict anonymity. "We are ready to co-operate with the company and willing to negotiate on salary cut proposals but the management (of Jet Airways) should first remove the expat pilots," he said.

Wolfgang Proch-Schaeur, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways said that that the management had not yet taken any decision on removing expatriate pilots. The pilots demanded that 15% of its expatriate pilots who fly the wide-body aircrafts should be removed.

Aside from pilots, other employees including high level officials who are paid half million Rupees salary per-month will observe a deduction. A five member-team has been formed to implement various cost-cutting measures which will be headed by Jet Airways’ founder Chairman, Naresh Goyal.

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