MALAYSIA AIRLINES (MAS) is to axe up to 30% of its workforce as part of a new 12-point restructuring plan aimed at restoring the troubled carrier to profitability by 2017. The initiative – imposed by Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund and majority shareholder Khazanah Nasional Berhad – came just days after the airline posted a second-quarter net loss of $95.1 million.
The fund is expected to assume full control of the Kuala Lumpur-based flag carrier imminently and plans to inject $1.9 billion over the next three years in what is the most radical overhaul of MAS since it assumed its current form in 1972.
A statement from Khazanah said: “At its core, the plan involves the creation of a new company (‘NewCo’), which will house the ‘New MAS’ and the migration of the right-sized workforce and work practices and contracts into the NewCo.” The recovery plan covers four distinct categories: Governance and Financial Framework; Operating Business Model; Leadership and Human Capital; and Regulatory and Enabling Environment.