Aero Contractors Nigeria Limited, has sacked
900 of its workers.
According to a statement by the airlines media
consultant, Simon Tumba, the airline which shut down temporarily in
October last year but reopened in December, has about 1500 staff members
on its payroll.
Tumba said the airline has been grappling with paying the salaries of
these workers as well as servicing its overhead cost. He says this is
not sustainable for the airline.
“The issuance of notification of redundancy is a business decision that
will ensure Aero’s survival. The current situation where over a thousand
people are basically not engaged due to lack of serviceable aircraft is
not sustainable for the airline. The huge monthly salary associated
with a bloated workforce will eventually kill the airline, which is not
the intention of the current government. This decision will immediately
reduce the whopping operational cost, which has been stifling Aero;
enable the management bring in more aircraft through savings from
overheads and pay for C-checks. It will also enable Aero have a more
manageable and committed workforce in line with international best
practices of 50 to 60 personnel to one aircraft unlike what obtains in
Aero at the moment”the statement readAccording to Tumba, those in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and
other important staff in critical departments would not be affected.