New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines sources denied restructuring saying that closing down of offices across India temporarily was due to curtailment of flights from 64 aircraft to 16 aircraft.
Kingfisher Airlines on Tuesday issued a statement, saying that there will be no lay-offs as of now. "Operations to several stations are temporarily suspended. Staff at these stations have been asked to stay at home but they are still on company payrolls," the statement said.
Kingfisher sources said salaries will be paid in phased manners once they get the money. Kingfisher Airlines is likely to make a statement on Tuesday regarding its future plans.
This came after there were reports that crisis-hit Kingfisher Airlines was likely to announce a major restructure plan soon. Sources had said Kingfisher's restructuring was aimed at trimming costs and operations. The restructuring plan is likely to be implemented from April 1.
Source said the plan would include lay-offs and even shutdown of offices. In certain cities across India, Kingfisher Airlines is mulling temporary suspension of its centres. Kingfisher Airlines has 7,000 employees on its payroll approximately.
Earlier, Kingfisher Airlines had decided to suspend all international flights from March 25 and further curtail domestic operations even as Government warned the ailing carrier that its flying licence could be cancelled if it failed to meet safety norms.
Kingfisher has a total debt of about Rs 7,000 crore and accumulated losses of about Rs 6,000 crore. The financial crunch has hit Kingfisher's operations with dozens of flights being cancelled.
Kingfisher Airlines agreed to pay only up to Rs 10 crore of its Rs 76-crore service tax dues this fiscal, a top Government official said.
"Kingfisher has dues to the tune of Rs 76 crore; we are talking to them. They will be depositing about Rs 10 crore this month," Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Chairman SK Goel said.
He said the Service Tax department has been freezing Kingfisher's bank accounts since October due to the non-payment. As of now it has frozen as many as 40 accounts.
Full text of Kingfisher Airlines statement:
Kingfisher Airlines has begun the 2012 summer schedule operating approximately 120 daily flights with 20 dedicated aircraft.
This is a "holding plan" that we have put in place pending re-capitalisation and return to full utilisation of the aircraft fleet. In this "holding plan" we have taken adequate care to ensure that part of our core inter-metro schedule is retained, while connectivity is maintained to many cities where we are the sole operator. This is to ensure that public interest is not compromised.
In the current schedule, we have taken care to ensure that we maintain schedule integrity with 100 per cent reliability. The DGCA are also monitoring our safety standards on a constant basis. This will give guests the required comfort to confidently book and fly with us.
As a result of this "holding plan", there are several stations to which operations have been temporarily suspended. There are, however, skeletal staff present at such airports to assist guests who may have been previously booked to fly with us and come to the airport. Our staff will assist them in re-booking their travel or processing refunds.
Since we could resume operations after getting re-capitalised, most staff at these stations has been asked to stay at home whilst remaining on the Company's rolls.
There is however much speculation on whether we are going to lay off a large number of our staff. To clarify, we are in a "holding" pattern right now and are waiting for various decisions from the Government and our Consortium of Bankers on FDI policy, working capital funding, etc. All of these will have a major impact on the staffing decisions we will have to make.
We would dearly like to retain our staff who have remained incredibly dedicated and loyal under extremely trying circumstances. Our immediate priority is to access our funds to pay outstanding staff salaries.
We would also like to state, that as directed by the Honourable Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Bangalore, we have paid a sum of Rs 44 crores towards TDS dues which was due on or before March 27, 2012.
Our keen intent is to get re-capitalised and to bounce back as a major player in Civil Aviation which is a major public utility service providing vital connectivity, large scale employment, competition for consumer benefit and contributing to the economic growth of India.
We will also protect the interests of all stakeholders, suppliers and service providers as an integral part of our recapitalization plans.
We thank our trade partners and valuable guests for their support during these difficult times and wish to assure them of our commitment to provide reliable, safe and on time operations.
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