Air India chief Ashwani Lohani writes to staff, asks them to get ready for new work culture

Amidst the ongoing talks of privatization, Air India (AI) chief Ashwani Lohani on Tuesday assured employees their interests would be "safeguarded" as he sought to allay concerns over possible layoffs following the government's decision to sell its stake in the national carrier.

"I would like to reassure all my employees that during the process of disinvestment, the government and the airline management would like to safeguard your genuine and valid interests and ensure that suitable measures to this effect are put in place," Ashwani Lohani, Air India's chairman and managing director, said in a letter to the staff.

Lohani's message to Air India employees comes on a day when a section of the staff held a protest against its proposed privatisation over fear of large scale job losses.

Assuring the staff, he wrote, "It is the firm conviction of the government that the process of disinvestment is only meant to make Air India a much stronger world class airline capable of competing with others successfully".

He continuously laid emphasis on the fact that the current scenario would be fruitful for Air India in the long run and asked his employees to get ready for a new work culture.

"This decision is primarily an offshoot of the inability of the airline to service the huge accumulated debt of over Rs 50,000 crore," he wrote.

The Union Cabinet in June gave its in-principle approval for disinvestment of Air India. A group of ministers headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will finalise the modalities.