Jet defers March salary payment to its 16K employees

The airline had been delaying the salaries of its pilots, engineers and senior staff since August who have not been paid since January.

Cash-starved Jet Airways on Wednesday deferred the March salary payment to its employees, citing "complexities" involved in the finalisation of the debt-recast plan, under which the SBI-led consortium of lenders has taken over management control of the airline.

Earlier, the airline had been delaying the salaries of its pilots, engineers and senior staff since August who have not been paid since January.

The company has over 16,000 employees on its payroll.

"Given the complexities of such (finalisation of the resolution plan) processes, it has taken us longer than expected.

“However, we continue to strive and are in continuous deliberations with the lenders and institutions to find a solution.

"In light of the current situation, please note that salaries for March 2019 will be deferred," Jet Airways chief people officer Rahul Taneja said in a communication to staff on Wednesday.

Though the management did not give a specific date for payment, it said the company will provide an update on the issue on April 9.

On March 25, Jet Airways board had approved a resolution plan formulated by SBI-led domestic lenders, under which had agreed to infuse an emergency funding of Rs 1,500 crore into the airline, and convert the same into equity worth 50.1 per cent for a notional value of just Re 1 each share.

However, the funds are yet to be disbursed due to "technical" reasons.

"In the current difficult times, the management team has been working with the lenders and other institutions to finalise a resolution plan which will help us stabilise our operations and build a sustainable future for the airline," he added.

Jet Airways said it is making every "possible effort" to remit salaries at the earliest, adding, "we will provide you an update on the status of the pay-out by April 9 2019."

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters