PIA to cut employees to 7,500, get 6 new aircraft next year

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plans to cut down the number of its employees to 7,500, less than half the current strength of its workforce, to reduce cost, ARY News reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

The sources quoting a report submitted to the Supreme Court in the suo motu case involving the national flag carrier said work on its business revival plan has begun as it has decided to bring in a mandatory scheme after the voluntary separation scheme.

In the next phase, the airline will evaluate the performance and punctuality of its employees, they said. The number of its employees will be brought down to 7,500 after both these schemes are implemented.

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The sources said PIA will expand its fleet to 35 by inducting six new aircraft in 2021.

The airline staff will be bifurcated into two categories, namely ‘core’ and ‘non-core’ with the latter to comprise aeronautical engineers, maintenance and repair as well as kitchen staff while the core category will comprise the marketing, human resources, finance, flight services, and procurement departments.