Air India may offer staff a 1-year job guarantee after privatisation: Report

Air India may offer job protection of one year to its 11,000 employees after selling its stake to a private entity, according to a report in Financial Express.

"The sale and purchase agreement (SPA) agreement will provide that strategic partner shall not retrench any employees of the company for a period of one year," a source told the publication.

The government is expected to issue an Expression of Interest (EoI) soon to invite bids from potential buyers. The Centre will share the SPA separately with bidders during the EoI stage.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

About 37 percent of the state-run airline’s staff are expected to retire in the next five years.

"Any buyer will like to overhaul the staff in a thin-margin business like airlines to increase efficiency,” a source told the publication.

This is the government's second attempt to privatise Air India. In 2018, an attempt to sell 76 percent of the airline failed.

Investors might have been deterred due to the high debt and the government's intention to retain a 24 percent stake.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said the government expects to complete the privatisation of Air India and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) by the end of March 2020.