New Delhi, July 20: IndiGo, one of the leading aviation companies in India, announced a lay-off of nearly 10 percent employees in bid to offset the COVID-19 impact. The top management of the private carrier decided to take the tough decision in view of adjusting their balances at a time when the coronavirus outbreak has nearly flattened the business operations.

IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta announced that the company will be "bidding adieu" to nearly 10 percent of the workforce. The decision is forced upon them due to the impact of coronavirus which is yet to subside. IndiGo Follows Vistara, Introduces '6E Double Seat' Scheme to Allow a Single Passenger to Book Two Seats.

"We will need to bid adieu to 10% of our workforce. This pandemic has forced us to re-evaluate our best-laid plans," the CEO of the low-cost carrier was reported as saying.

Update by ANI

"From where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices, in order to sustain our business operations," Dutta said in a statement.

"Therefore, after carefully assessing and reviewing all possible scenarios, it is clear that we will need to bid a painful adieu to 10 per cent of our workforce. It is for the first time in the history of IndiGo that we have undertaken such a painful measure," he added.

This is the first time when IndiGo is opting for layoffs since it began operations in India. According to reports citing sources, the company's total staff strength is 30,000.

As per the adjustment measure announced, around 3,000 members of the workforce are expected to lost their jobs. They would be provided a three-month salary along with bonus as a consolation.

IndiGo, occupying a domestic share of 47.5 percent and being one of the fastest profit-making airlines in India, was expected to bear the COVID-19 shock. The carrier has a total of 262 aircraft, and operates on 62 domestic and 24 international routes.

Several other aviation companies were forced to take similar drastic measures, including Air India, as the outbreak of coronavirus has reduced flight operations to bear minimum.

GoAir and SpiceJet, the other two leading aviation companies in India, are also reportedly pushed to the brink since the outbreak of coronavirus. GoAir is focussing on cargo planes to survive amid the pandemic. The Air India is also exploring options to reduce its workforce, and is considering to send scores of employees on leave without pay.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2020 06:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).