Sources told the website that the announcement was made by AirAsia Berhad CEO Riad Asmat during a briefing, where he also revealed that affected employees will be notified via email within 24 hours. While no detailed figures were provided, it is said that several hundred AirAsia workers would be laid off. Sources added that affected employees will still be receiving basic assistance such as health care benefits and flight coupons from the company until December 2020. Riad also assured workers who are not involved in the retrenchment would not see a deduction in their salaries and encouraged them to continue increasing efforts in fulfilling their duties.
In the meantime, the airline’s sister company AirAsia X is said to have held a separate briefing session, also announcing the downsizing of its own workforce. According to people familiar with the matter, the retrenchment will rely on the principle of “last in, first out”, and the company is also said to offer several hundred employees unpaid leave until the situation recovers. Similarly, no exact figures were revealed but affected workers are expected to be in the hundreds as well. At the time of writing, AirAsia Berhad has not released an official statement regarding the retrenchment exercise. (Source: Astro Awani)
