Kenya Airways has finalised its Sh800million retrenchment programme that has seen 578 employees leave the company.

Releasing the numbers Thursday morning, the airline said out of the 578 that left only 125 opted for the early retirement package.
This means that 453 employees were declared redundant. Kenya Airways said the exercise will cost Sh800 million to foot the severance pay of the affected workers.

Chief Executive Titus Naikuni said the layoffs will see it save about Sh1billion per year.

"We had told the union that the pay hike we gave the employees during the strike was unsustainable in the long run. I guess the chicken have now come home to roost,” Mr Naikuni said Thursday but declined to comment on why the airline ignored a directive from Prime Minister Raila Odinga to suspend the layoffs.

If you read KQ financials, there is an item called Crew route expenses, which in 2011 was 2.2b. These are costs associated with keeping pilots, engineers and cabin crew in the air and in far off places. A prime area of cost cutting.

http://investinginafrica..._Annual_Report_2011.pdf

If you don't believe, think Safcon outsourcing customer service

My head is spinning. If pilots too can be outsourced what then is the business of KQ?

Are the pilots or the cabin crew the identity of KQ? When you fly how many times do you see the pilot? My take is that Cabin crews are the identity since they interact with the customers!

Further, if you pump negative 800m in its first half results (remember Eurozone, fuel . . .), you'll be lucky to make any money at all in H1

Anybody in the know of the positions and locations of these foreigners?
Could it be that they are those manning KQ offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong, West Africa and the like?

How is the send off package like?

Dont be stupid. The planes cannot move themselves from point A to B.

Kq pilots are not being outsourced. For now. KALPA has a standing agreement with Kq which prevents this. And also foreign pilots have to convert to a kenyan CPL. But the day is coming ...and soon when KQ will mow down the agreement with KALPA ...its just a matter of time.
Pilots out there are a frustrated lot, with global aviation still being bleak, there are pilots who will do anything to keep flying, keep the hours up and licences current, that means they will take rock bottom wages. This is how management of airlines treat crew. The net is full of sob stories ..BA, Qantas, Ryanair, American Airlines ...etc etc ...Aviation is a rude business. And Naikuni is just getting started. You can take that to the bank.