IndiGo to deepen pay cuts for senior employees, pilots by 25-30 per cent

New Delhi: IndiGo on Monday (July 27) said it is implementing deeper pay cuts of up to 35 per cent for its senior employees in order to reduce its cash outflow amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

From May onwards, IndiGo had implemented pay cuts of up to 25 per cent for its senior employees.

“I will increase my personal pay cut percentage to 35 per cent. I am asking all senior vice presidents and above to take a 30 per cent pay cut, all pilots will see their pay cut percentages increased to 28 per cent, all vice presidents will take a 25 per cent pay cut and associate vice presidents will take a 15 per cent pay cut,” IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta told employees in an e-mail on Monday.

These increased pay cuts will come into effect from September 1.

The ‘deeper’ pay cuts came announcement from the airlines comes barely a week after it announced that it would lay off 10 per cent of its workforce due to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

Before Monday’s announcement, IndiGo CEO Dutta took a 25 per cent cut in salaries. For senior vice presidents the pay cut was 20 per cent, for vice presidents it was 15 per cent and for associate vice presidents it was 10 per cent.

In May, IndiGo had also cut the salaries of Band D employees and cabin crew members by 10 per cent, and of Band C employees by 5 per cent. Salaries of employees in Band B and Band A were not touched. Majority of the employees of the airline are in Band B and Band A.

The company had also implemented a compulsory leave without pay (LWP) scheme for its employees for up to five days per month in May to deal with the economic crisis.

The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the coronavirus pandemic. All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, leave-without-pay and lay-offs in order to conserve cash.

India resumed domestic passenger flights from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the airlines have been allowed to operate only a maximum of 45 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights.