Report: Over 8,000 workers at risk as MAS extends jobs cull

KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Over 8,000 Malaysia Airlines (MAS) employees could lose their jobs come Wednesday, with the remaining 12,000 employees subject new contracts under a radical restructuring exercise, The Star reported today.

Quoting unnamed sources, the newspaper said MAS will effectively terminate its entire workforce before offering two-thirds new contracts in a last ditch attempt to save the struggling airline that was struggling even before the MH17 and MH370 tragedies struck last year.

The only person spared from imminent termination is newly-appointed chief executive Christoph Mueller who is handling the government-linked company’s transition into a private entity, under sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, called Malaysia Airlines Berhad.

Khazanah also announced today the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers executive chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi to oversee the the transfer of the assets and liabilities of MAS to the new company, which is set to start operations this September.

Earlier this month, Khazanah reported that only 6,000 jobs will be retrenched in order to reach a more sustainable 14,000 headcount, but sources revealed that the number may rise to 8,000.

Khazanah had said in April the downsizing cannot be avoided if the new national carrier is to be sustainable.

Employees are fighting the move while Khazanah said it has tried its best to do the exercise properly and humanely by offering jobs elsewhere.

Mueller was reported to have met with the employees union leaders recently and in his address yesterday said termination letters are expected to be distributed by June 1.

Staff retained will also get new remuneration package based on market rates, Mueller added.

The national carrier was delisted in August after sovereign wealth fund Khazanah offered to buy out minority shareholders for a total of RM1.38 billion to restructure MAS, which suffered two air disasters this year.

The total takeover will cost Khazanah RM6 billion after the twin tragedies of MH370 and MH17 had threatened to overwhelm MAS’s finances.

The sovereign wealth fund later unveiled a 12-point turnaround plan for the national carrier, titled “Rebuilding A National Icon — The MAS Recovery Plan”, which includes transferring all MAS assets to the new entity.