Malaysia Airlines sends out termination letters to 20,000 staff

KUALA LUMPUR — Termination letters from Malaysia’s loss-making national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is expected to begin arriving at the homes of around 20,000 staff from today (Jun 1) onwards.

As part of its restructure, MAS is letting go all of its staff — but two thirds are expected to receive offer letters to the airline’s new incarnation, set to begin operations in September.

Sources tell Channel NewsAsia that some staff have already received their termination and offer letters, but not all have been offered the same position in the company that they held previously.

This overhaul of MAS comes as new CEO Christoph Mueller attempts to bring the airline back to profitability within three years. The company has suffered continuous losses since 2008 despite restructuring plans and billions of dollars worth of lifelines from the government.

MAS’ image was also hit after the MH17 and MH370 aviation tragedies last year.

As part of this latest restructure, Malaysia Airlines has been selling off assets including its stake in travel distributor Abacus. It is also downsizing its fleet and is expected to slash routes in a bid to rein in costs. CHANNEL NEWSASIA