Starting April, Vistara to roll back pay cuts for non-management staff

An internal email by the airline’s CEO Leslie Thng to employees said that pay cuts will continue for management-level executives (level 4 and level 5 employees), including himself, but will be rolled back for level 1 to level 3 staff

Vistara will be rolling back pay cuts for a few categories of employees, starting April. These pay cuts were implemented last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic leading to severe financial issues for the aviation industry.

A Vistara Airbus A320 passenger aircraft at Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport in Mumbai. (File photo)

An internal email by the airline’s chief executive officer (CEO) Leslie Thng to its employees said that pay cuts will be rolled back for level 1 to level 3 employees but will continue for management-level executives (level 4 and level 5 employees), including himself.

The full service carrier had, in June 2020, announced a reduction in salary of nearly 40% of the total workforce. This reduction in salary was announced for the period up to December 31, and was later extended to March 31.

In the internal mail, the Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines joint venture airline said it will not be paying an annual increment in April this year. However, it mentioned that the increment process will be revised in October, based on the airline’s financial position in the coming six months.

Thng’s email read, “Our board has approved to cease the pay cut that was implemented for level-1 to level-3 staff from April 1, but the leadership team (level 4 and level-5) and I will continue with our pay cuts at 15% and 25%, respectively… we are definitely not out of the woods yet as our operating capacity and revenue are still below pre-Covid levels, and the road ahead will continue to remain vigilant in controlling our costs and be nimble and flexible in our plan, and should be prepared to take difficult decisions if the need arises.”