Aero sacks 60% ‘redundant’ staff

In what the management of Aero Contractors of Nigeria Limited has described as a “business decision”, letters of redundancy are being served to about 3,000 out of its 5,000 workforce, representing about 60 per cent.

This is to affect all categories of its workers, irrespective of years of experience.

In a statement, dated March 14, 2017 and signed by Ms T. U. Ajaiyi, on behalf of management, the various departments and units will be reducing their staff strength gradually until the targeted number is reached.

It could be recalled that the airline was the first outfit in the aviation industry to be taken over by AMCON in 2016 over its inability to meet debt obligations to foreign and local banks.

One of the conditions given by the asset management agency included reorganising the management, ownership structure and staff strength of the company.

In November 2016, about 1,500 staff were sacked , prior to AMCON reducing its grip on the company.

It is also to reduce what is said to be over bloated senior management cadre, which was fingerred for the huge and unrealistic personnel costs that had been affecting its operational costs.

The airline’s situation was worsened by lack of enough fleet of aircraft, which reduced from eight to four, with only two said to be fit for operation, if they would undergo necessary maintenace C-checks.

But according to the statement, staff in the technical units would not be much affected, except those without clean records.

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Said the statement: “This is aimed at reducing the operational costs, which have been stifling the company as to enable the management bring in more aircraft through savings from overheads, pay for C-checks of its aircraft.”

It, however, assured staff to be affected that their gratuity will be duly paid, while there are chances that some of them might still be recalled, when the situation improved.

It was learnt that the company spends more than half of its revenue, monthly, on salaries, identified by the receivership management team earlier appointed by AMCON as a challange.

The company is said to be currently having the aircraft-to-employee ratio of 1:500, believed to be the worst in the industry.

AMCON has said that its intervention in Aero was to save it from total collapse and has supported serving redundancy letters to deserving staff of the airline.

The CEO, Capt. Ado Sanusi was said to have held series of meetings with the representives of the workers’ union to avoid possible industrial actions.

 

 

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