NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 9-Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka in a letter to Kenyan Pilots Association on Friday said the company has received the nod from its board to carry out layoffs after it reviewed its operations in May.
“We write to you to inform you that following a thorough review, the Kenya Airways Board has approved the decision to carry out redundancy actions across the company network. This, therefore, is a formal notification that we will be commencing redundancy process across the business,” said Kilavuka.
According to Kilavuka, the decision has been greatly influenced by the coronavirus pandemic that has affected the airlines revenues despite resumption of domestic and international flights.
“The scale of this challenge requires substantial change, so we are in a competitive and resilient position to address the impact of COVID-19 withstand any long-term reductions in customer demand and any other economic shocks,” reads Kilavuka’s statement to KALPA.
The notification letter to the pilots comes after the pilots in late July asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene in the redundancy plans that would affect at least 4000 families.
The pilots further stated that the downsizing will see Kenya lose homegrown talent to foreign carriers
The loss-making airline had planned to cut its operations on the coronavirus pandemic that saw it ground all its operations, where its projecting another two to three years before the industry can normalize.
The airline plans to lay off 40 per cent of its employees in the restructuring exercise.
