Near 5,000 THAI staff to retire early

Almost 5,000 Thai Airways International employees have signed up for the company's early retirement programme, as concerns mount over the airline's ability to reduce its operating costs to match falling revenues. The scheme had been welcomed by employees, almost 5,000 of whom have applied, the airline's acting president, Chansin Treenuchagron, said on Thursday. Applications for the scheme closed on Oct 28. Employees whose applications were approved will receive severance checks equivalent to 2-14.33 months of pay, depending on their position, in addition to other benefits. The airline's furlough programme, meanwhile, will run from Nov 1 to April 30. The programmes were among the ailing flagship carrier's efforts to turn its balance sheets around. Earlier this month, THAI announced that despite the fact that 80% of its 19,000 employees had agreed to pay cuts or go on unpaid leave, the financially-struggling airline only has enough financial reserves to last until December. As of the end of June, the company's debts stood at 332.2b baht. Its debt rehabilitation was approved by the bankruptcy court on Sept 14. Chansin said the early retirement programme had allowed the company to meet its workforce reduction target. On Thursday, he thanked participants of the scheme, saying they would help ensure the airline can stay in business. Now, he said, the company's focus was to come up with a payout plan, as it didn't have many cash reserves and couldn't take out loans. <br/>