It is finally happening—the merger of Air India and Vistara, the latter being a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and the Tata Group. All that is awaited is the approval of the the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in India. However, today, in a phygital townhall meeting, all the employees of both the airlines will be addressed by Campbell Wilson, chief executive officer, Air India and Vinod Kannan, chief executive officer and chief integration officer, Vistara. That means, about 23,500 employees in total, will be part of the meeting where they will be updated about the progress of the deal so far and what lies ahead for the merged entity.
It is pertinent to mention here that the deal has already received approval from the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) and the Competition Commission of India (CCI), with certain specific terms and conditions.
The merger deal will see Singapore Airlines acquiring 25.1 per cent stake in Air India.
Of the total workforce, about 6,500 employees are from Vistara whereas about 17,000 are from Air India. In March, Kannan, had confirmed that the merger will lead to the complete absorption of Vistara’s employees by Air India. In other words, Vistara employees, including pilots, flight attendants and engineers, will need to seek new roles within Air India.
It is hoped that the merged entity will be more efficient in terms of operations and will lead to better performance on the domestic as well as international fronts.
