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SINGAPORE: When Flight Attendant Lin * heard the news that more than 4,000 positions would be cut from the Singapore Airlines Group (SIA), her heart sank.
While she and her colleagues had been waiting for the news for some time, with airlines struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was still a hit.
READ: Singapore Airlines Group to cut around 4,300 positions as COVID-19 hits aviation industry
Last week, Singapore’s national carrier said some 2,400 employees would be affected by job cuts, while another 1,900 jobs are being cut by measures such as hiring freezes and early retirement plans.
The SIA Group had more than 28,000 employees across three airlines and SIA Engineering as of March 31, according to its FY2019 / 2020 annual report. Of these, the majority, more than 17,000, were from Singapore Airlines.
Four days after the announcement, the layoffs began. Trainees and non-Singaporeans were among some of the first to be laid off, interviewees told CNA.
Last year, Lin flew almost constantly with seven to 10 flights a month. This year, they have called her for one flight a month since April. This means a big pay cut, as basic cabin crew salaries are only part of their salary. On top of that, there is a variable component and allowances tied to the number of hours they fly.
He knows colleagues who have had to take part-time jobs to get ahead, but decided to tighten their belts for now while awaiting this crisis unprecedented in the airline’s 48-year history.
So far, Lin hasn’t received the dreaded spending cut email, but said everyone was eager when the news broke. Colleagues gathered for “one last drink” while waiting to see who cut himself.
“It was really a very sad day for all of us, no one wanted anyone to go.”
All three employees CNA spoke to, two of whom are cabin crew and one from SIA headquarters, said their wages plummeted 50 percent after their work hours were cut since April.
That was at a time when many countries were imposing entry restrictions to protect against imported COVID-19 cases. The airline cut 96 percent of its capacity. More than four months later, the airline industry remains in dire straits, with SIA hit harder than most as it has no domestic routes. In August, it suffered a 98.3% year-on-year drop in passenger transport.
READ: SIA Group passenger transport down 98.3% in August, some flights suspended due to COVID-19
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Airline employees welcomed the break at first, but as the COVID-19 outbreak drags on and planes remain grounded, the uncertainty has been unsettling, they said.
Jon said *: “I’ve been living on my basic salary because I don’t really have a lot of commitments… (thinking) it will last a couple of months. Over time, we realized that this is something that awaits us in the long term. “
Now you are thinking about joining a part-time job so that you can keep saving for the future. But both he and Lin said the company has been “fair” to them so far, under the circumstances.
Alice *, who has been with the airline for decades, said she works short hours, but knows people who took early retirement packages.
“I think this is the worst of all, much worse than SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome),” he said.
In 2003, when the SARS outbreak hit Asia, SIA laid off hundreds of employees.
READ: More job losses expected for Singapore Airlines, say industry watchers
SIA Group said in a statement that the downsizing exercise will be carried out in a “fair and respectful” manner.
Affected personnel will receive salaries in lieu of their notice period, and those with the airline for more than two years will receive an additional monthly payment for each year of service, capped at 25 months.
“During the exercise, SIA deployed company-wide resources to support affected personnel. The terms of the launch package were explained individually to each affected personnel,” said a spokesperson.
SIA also arranged for counselors, medical staff and their union members to be present to provide support.
Companies such as Jumbo Group and Etonhouse have already started offering jobs to laid off SIA employees.
READ: SIA Group laid off staff offered more than 200 jobs by EtonHouse, Jumbo Group and Commonwealth Capital
For employees who have seen pay cuts, SIA said it has also been helping them find temporary job opportunities outside the organization: “We have waived our exclusive service for cabin crew who wish to take on such jobs. We have posted job opportunities I work on our Employee Support Portal, and placed over 500 employees so far. “
There are also grassroots initiatives, such as the Cabin Crew United Facebook group, which was started to support airline crews on leave or who lost their jobs.
The group created by the airline’s cabin crew and former crew members has around 1,600 members from SIA, SilkAir and Scoot.
“In recent months, our focus has been on finding temporary or contract employment for our members who may be displaced. This has been a community effort and it has been encouraging to see former cabin crew reach out to their peers on this front,” Said Ruben Brandon, a former cabin crew member and one of the founders of Cabin Crew United.
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It has also provided content online and organized classes and charity drives for migrant workers to help engage its members.
SIA has said that it expects to operate below 50 percent of its capacity by the end of the 2020/21 financial year. Industry groups have also predicted that passenger traffic will not return to pre-COVID levels until around 2024.
* CNA is not using the actual names of SIA staff cited in this article to protect their identities.
