India’s low-cost airline IndiGo has announced that it has decided to cut down 10% of its workforce and downsize the company further to meet the falling demand in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. IndiGo is the largest carrier in India but similar to airlines around the globe, it has been harshly affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Last month, the airline already announced that it would seek to cut over £400 million in costs this year. The airline has now been grounded for several months following the strict lockdown observed in India. It employs around 24,000 people – with 2,400 jobs on the line at present.
The company controls around half of the Indian aviation market and had been profitable for the past ten years. It mostly focuses on low-cost domestic travel across the country so it can be hoped that once the coronavirus situation in the country gets better and domestic tourism makes a return, the airline can start to gradually revive itself once again. However, as India continues to report a daily spike in COVID-19 cases, the future remains uncertain for now.
Therefore, Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive, IndiGo addressed a letter to investors and said that it is impossible for the company to fly through the current economic storm without making some sacrifices, in order to sustain the business operations in near future.
