Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) impending corporate restructuring exercise might see up to 6,000 job cuts – a little more than 25% of the airline’s current workforce of 20,000 staff members, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
According to Reuters‘s Yantoultra Ngui, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said MAS’s restructuring will also include a cutback in the airline’s routes.
MAS is being taken private by the Federal Government’s investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd (Khazanah), which currrently owns 69.37% of MAS shares. Khazanah’s plan after it completes a RM1.4 billion buyout of all remaining MAS shares will be to de-list the ailing airline from the Bursa Malaysia and make it fully private.
MAS is due to announce its second-quarter results by August 28, which is expected to reflect expanding losses. The airline has been in financial trouble for years, with its January-March quarterly report being its worst in the past two years.
Its troubles were amplified this year with the twin tragedies of Flight MH370’s disappearance in March and Flight MH17 being shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17. The loss of customer confidence resulted in cancelled bookings, weak passenger yields and high overheads.
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