Air India launches the second phase of its VR scheme

For its general cadre employees, office staff, and unskilled workers, Air India, which was acquired by the Tata group in January 2022, has announced a second round of voluntary retirement schemes (VRS). Employees must be older than 40 and have at least five years of continuous service to be eligible for the offer.

At the moment, Air India employs about 11,000 people, both flying and non-flying personnel. 2,100 of these workers are qualified to take advantage of the voluntary retirement offer. This is the second phase of the VRS scheme; the first phase, which covered the categories of cabin crew, clerical workers, and unskilled workers, was adopted in June 2022.

The voluntary retirement offer was then accepted by around 1,500 employees, or 43% of those who qualified. According to Air India’s top human resources officer, Suresh Dutt Tripathi, requests from workers to offer the additional benefit of voluntary retirement to other permanent employees have been received.

As a result, the airline has opted to start the second phase of the VRS scheme. Employees will get an ex gratia amount as a one-time benefit if they apply for voluntary retirement before April 30. The ex gratia payment will be increased by Rs 1,000,000 for those who submit their applications by March 31.

The Vihaan.AI transformation plan, which Air India launched in September 2022, intends to accomplish a number of objectives over a five-year period. The plan’s goal is to place Air India on a course for consistent development, financial success, and market leadership. Air India permitted its voluntarily retired cabin crew employees to extend their tenure till January of the next year as of November last year in response to a shortage of cabin crew.