New Delhi: India's SpiceJet Ltd said it will prioritize hiring employees of Jet Airways Ltd who are losing their jobs after the crisis-hit Indian airline halted all flight operations indefinitely this week.
"We have already provided jobs to more than 100 pilots, more than 200 cabin crew and more than 200 technical and airport staff," said Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director of SpiceJet. "We will do more."
Hundreds of Jet Airways employees protested in Delhi and Mumbai last Thursday to push its management for answers about their future after the airline shut down all flight operations having failed to secure new funding from its lenders.
Jet Airways has lost many employees as the crisis unfolded. About 400 pilots have moved to other airlines, leaving Jet with about 1,300 pilots, a senior Jet pilot told Reuters. About 40 engineers have also left, a senior engineer said.
Lenders, led by State Bank Of India, say they are hopeful of a successful bidding process for Jet. The carrier is saddled with about $1.2 billion in debt.
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet, which pledged to add 27 planes over the next two weeks to help to fill in the slots left vacant by Jet's grounding, said that it is making all possible efforts to minimise passenger inconvenience.
The government plans to form a committee to temporarily allocate takeoff and landing slots left vacant by the grounding of Jet's flights, a senior official said on Thursday. Local airlines including InterGlobe Aviation Ltd and state-run Air India are likely to benefit.
Air India on Thursday offered special fares to passengers stranded in international routes due to Jet's grounding.
WeWork India, others offer jobs to Jet Airways employees
US-based co-working operator WeWork Wednesday said it will offer job opportunities to Jet Airways employees, who were affected by the recent suspension of operations.
Cash-starved Jet Airways, which has around 23,000 employees, has delayed payment of salaries to the employees, including pilots.
WeWork, in a statement, said it will actively consider job applications from Jet employees for openings across marketing, community management and sales.
"In line with WeWork's mission to create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living, the company is opening up opportunities for jet employees to be a part of the global shared community," it added.
WeWork said interested candidates can send their resumes to an email ID created specifically for applications from Jet employees, and these profiles will be considered on priority for any of the open roles across verticals.
Lowe's India -- the technology products and solutions centre for USD 71.3 billion Lowe's Companies -- has also offered to recruit employees from the IT division of Jet Airways.
"We at Lowe's India welcome any employee of the IT division of Jet Airways to apply for technology positions with us. Interested candidates can send their resumes...and we will fast-track the process to schedule a meeting with you," it said in a statement.
Startups like CureFit have also stepped in to offer employment to the distressed workers at Jet.
CureFit co-founder Ankit Nagori had recently tweeted that the company would be open to hire candidates from Jet.
