Red-letter day for 20,000 Malaysia Airlines staff

[webfact]

Red-letter day for 20,000 staff
NEVILLE SPYKERMAN
The Star Online
Asia News Network

PETALING JAYA: It's D-Day for 20,000 employees of Malaysia Airlines.

All of them will receive termination letters today, but some two-thirds will be offered jobs with the new company, MAS Bhd. They have until June 12 to decide if they want to take up the offer.

A cabin crew member who only wanted to be identified as Abdul, said he was glad the uncertainty would end today.

"I've been feeling sluggish and not knowing if I have a job has been killing me," said the 43-year-old father of three.

He said MAS had won multiple awards over the years for having the best cabin crew.

"I was part of that team and I hope to be among those in the new company," he said.

Another executive with the airline, who only wanted to be identified as Lee, is praying hard to be among those who would be offered jobs by the new airline (MAS Bhd) today.

"I've got elderly parents to support, I need this job," he said.

Another employee who wants to be known as Rose, 53, said: "There are so many reports in the news and speculations. I'll believe it when I see it."

MAS is scheduled to axe between 6,000 and 8,000 staff over the next one year as part of its plan to shrink into a smaller airline with regional focus.

Those not offered jobs with MAS Bhd will be given one-month basic salary for every year of service for those with up to 10 years of service.

Those who have served MAS for more than 10 years will get 1.5 months of salary for every year of service.

Those who accept the offer to join MAS Bhd will be offered a sign-on payment and if they are still with MAS Bhd after 18 months, will get a retention payment.

A flight steward, who only wanted to be identified as Dean, said he was trying to remain positive for the sake of his family.

The 40-year-old plans to join MAS Bhd if offered a job but was ready to start looking for a new one if necessary.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Red-letter-day-for-20000-staff-30261364.html


-- The Nation 2015-06-01

[siam2007]

THAI AIRWAYS management, please read this !

While MAS for sure has too many employees and particularly many inefficient employees (I still wait for my ENRICH miles on fellow oneworld-Airline UL to be credited after 5 months despite several emails and calls) and therefore the cost of their product is way too high leading to permanent losses, the same can be said of THAI AIR whose employees earn up to 16 salaries a year !

Needless to say, THAI would never employ a foreign CEO (let alone someone from a Western country) as that would make them "lose face". They prefer to lose money rather than lose face

[ezzra]

20,000 airline staff ? is there ANY ONE in Malaysia who's not employed by the national carrier?

no wonder they have gone tits up.....

[Chicog]

20,000 airline staff ? is there ANY ONE in Malaysia who's not employed by the national carrier?

no wonder they have gone tits up.....

That's not that excessive for an airline of that size.

My bet is that the majority of those getting the tin tack will be cabin crew, and that service on that airline will suffer badly as a result.

Given the alternatives available, this could prove to be a false economy.

Having said that, what they are doing is eliminating the legacy salaries that exist from when times were good - exactly what Willie Walsh did at BA (only without sacking people).

Harsh decisions have to be made when you are trying to compete with heavily subsidised Arab playthings.

[dabhand]

Interesting that, at the very time MAS are reducing their long haul services, BA are re-commencing their KL flights.

This started last week with daily flights and is after they pulled out some fifteen years back. It was a blow to KLIA's hopes as a hub airport when BA and a number of other mainstream airlines shut down their operations in KLIA. Not sure if this is a sign of a change of focus or merely BA seeing an opportunity due to the MH disasters of recent times and passengers reluctance to fly with them.

Was in KL last week and saw no sign of the BA restart by way of advertising in the papers / tourist areas, etc.. Only realised it when reading an article in the Independent newspaper yesterday about dining in KL where the author had noted he had flown with BA. Their advertising budget must have been limited!!

[mango66]

Thai Airways just announced,

they will employ 5.000 of them , to get improfement in thai by competition with this malay staff;

expenses is no problem,

they will get sponsored by labour dep. 555555

[bangkapi]

They mean "pink slip" day.

According to Cambridge dictionary a red-letter day is a special, happy and important day that you will always remember.

[Basil B]

Last year was a terrible year for MAS.

Yet I do not anticipate Russia accepting responsibility for it's part in the shooting down of MH17 any time soon, let alone paying any compensation.

[elgordo38]

Last year was a terrible year for MAS.

Yet I do not anticipate Russia accepting responsibility for it's part in the shooting down of MH17 any time soon, let alone paying any compensation.

I am sure these so called offers of employment in another airline come at a much reduced wage level. This is common in may countries. Shut down the old name and reopen under a new one and offer employment at reduced rates. I wonder if this is the case here. How many upper level managers will be getting the heave ho? Its funny how a lower level workers job security is always tied to the actions of others. MAS should never have built up such a cumbersome system and them come along and cut the legs out from underneath so many workers. Were they overstaffed? possibly but management should again be responsible to manage not fire workers. In my humble Grade 10 education eyes this is a disgrace.

[geriatrickid]

20,000 airline staff ? is there ANY ONE in Malaysia who's not employed by the national carrier?

no wonder they have gone tits up.....

That's not that excessive for an airline of that size.

My bet is that the majority of those getting the tin tack will be cabin crew, and that service on that airline will suffer badly as a result.

Given the alternatives available, this could prove to be a false economy.

Having said that, what they are doing is eliminating the legacy salaries that exist from when times were good - exactly what Willie Walsh did at BA (only without sacking people).

Harsh decisions have to be made when you are trying to compete with heavily subsidised Arab playthings.

Air Asia is not a heavily subsidised Arab plaything. It is the airline that took most of Malaysia's regional and domestic pax.

[stoffel45]

Last year was a terrible year for MAS.

Yet I do not anticipate Russia accepting responsibility for it's part in the shooting down of MH17 any time soon, let alone paying any compensation.

Especially if it was the Ukrainians - right now - it's 50/50.

[landslide]

I do have to say that the severance package being offered to those potentially losing their jobs is respectable. You would be hard pressed to find a Western corporation offering those terms to the rank and file.

[fred Kubasa]

Tony Fernandes founder of Air Asia, with creativeness, new ideas was largely responsible for Air Malaysia losses

not so much because of what he did but more because of what the Malaysian airline didn't do ! I believe he will do the

same to Thai Airways which, in many ways is already worse off then the Malaysian Airline.

[ALFREDO]

Toni from Air Asia, brought in into Thailand with his than "partner" Thaksin,at this time partly owner of Air Asia Thailand, did already hurt Thai Airways a lot. Also I believe he has its hands full in the moment with his own crisis after the Air Asia fatal accident and gets some of his own medicine from the new rival THAI LION AIR who has the backing of a fast expanding Indonesian Airline.

Edited June 1, 2015 by ALFREDO

[peteregion]

MAS was suffering long before Tony Fernandes took over Air Asia. MAS was given to one of Dr M's crony when Dr M was still the PM of Malaysia. Millions were siphoned off and the airline nearly went bankrupt. After that, it never really recover.

I read that most of the staff reduction will be in the area of engineering and support as the new company MAS Berhad intends to outsource these services.Of course with the reduction in routes, there will be a similar reduction in flight crews.

[otherstuff1957]

Where did the Nation reporters learn English anyway???

The term A Red Letter Day comes from the tradition of monks writing the names on holidays in Medieval calendars in red rather than in black. So, a Red Letter Day is a holiday or the day of some special event. It is not a day when people are laid off or fired.

[Scott]

An off-topic post and reply have been removed.