Air India Express
Credit: PTI Photo
The headquarters of the merged entity Air India Express (AIX) will be housed in the same complex at Gurugram as that of Air India. To enable this, the original headquarters of Air India Express (pre-merger) in Kochi and Air Asia India in Bengaluru are being shut down along with the small corporate offices of the (formerly) two airlines in Mumbai.
While the merger and restructuring of the integrated airline have been in the works for a while, employees of both airlines were stumped last week by an e-mail that announced the relocation of most non-operational staff across Bengaluru, Kochi and Mumbai by December.
“We are therefore now initiating the process of relocation of our staff in a phased manner. To start with we are looking at manager and above to shift by December 2023 post which your base location will be Gurgaon (Gurugram),” read the email seen by DH. Other roles are required to move to Gurugram latest by March 31, 2024.
The number of employees across the three locations who will eventually have to make the move is estimated at a little over 1,200, which includes 600 in Bengaluru, 300 in Kochi and another 300 in Mumbai. According to an insider source, of these about 20-25 people (CXO levels) will have to move by December, ~400 (mid-level management) by January-February 2024 and the rest (about 800) by March 2024.
Needless to say, the short notice issued to relocate has ruffled feathers. Many among the inconvenienced lot (a majority of the headcount in the different cities) are even considering exiting the company rather than moving base, say insiders.
“Nearly 60-70% of employees are considering switching their jobs, however, the 90-day notice period is a big challenge,” an employee in the Bengaluru office, who did not wish to be named, told DH. Employees felt they were entitled to being notified of the move at least 6 months in advance.
Some attributed the short notice as a ploy to effect job cuts with many not being able to make the transfer. “The best part is the human resource head along with chief executive officer Aloke Singh has issued directives to the department to start hiring replacements," another senior management employee to DH on condition of anonymity,
What is an additional sore point is the demand for relocation comes with barely any support from the company. While a “relocation policy” offers some financial support for the costs incurred in shifting, the amount is expected to be recovered from their salaries, the employees complained.
AIX did not respond to DH’s multiple queries seeking clarity on the move and its impact on operations and employee strength.
AIX or Air India Express and AirAsia India collectively have over 8,000 employees (operational and non-operational), 30-35% of which are cabin crew. It is noteworthy that none of the operations staff, which includes flight crew, airport staff, etc will be affected by this move. Its Bengaluru office, where the impact is the largest, has upwards of 1,500 employees of which 550-600 are corporate roles. This is followed by Kochi and Mumbai with the least employee base.