Air India Sale Delayed As Jan 5 Deadline Removed; Air India Staff Can Get Fired After Sale?

The divestment process of Air India has been delayed further as the Centre has now declared its decision to remove the deadline for the announcement on the short-listed bidders.

The airline is buried in debt and has been in the news for multiple reasons apart from the divestment.

Read on to find out why the divestment of Air India has been delayed!

DIPAM Announces Further Delay Of Divestment of Air India

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, or DIPAM, has announced this decision in the eleventh corrigendum to its invitation for expression of interest (EoI) for Air India. 

As per DIPAM, “Post completion of the evaluation of the EOls received, the Transaction Advisor will directly intimate the Qualified Interested Bidders (QIB) in relation to their qualification and the next steps for the Proposed Transaction.”

Only one day prior to this new announcement,  Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the announcement by the Government about the bidders and the details of their bids will be made by January 5. The deadline to submit the bids was December 29.

The Tata Group is in discussions with Singapore Airlines (SIA), its joint venture partner in Vistara to buy off the debt ridden Air India and has already submitted an expression of interest (EoI) for Air India. The company is reportedly deciding options for the entity that will submit bids for Air India.

Will The New Owners Fire Staff?

There also have been reports about the government permitting the firing of some employees. The new owner of Air India will be granted some opportunities and steps to ensure smoother operations of the company. 

The DIPAM has announced that the new owner of the airline will be given the authority to dispose of assets cumulating from 10-26% of the net assets of the company.

An official has said, “Looking at the prevailing conditions acting as an overhang on the aviation sector, the new entity acquiring AI will be allowed to sell a few aircraft or return them to the lessor.” 

If some of the flights are sold off by the airline, this will obviously result in job cuts.

This is still a developing story and we’ll keep you updated as we get any more details!