Singapore Airlines, hit by tough times, offers retirement deal

SINGAPORE (AP) – Singapore Airlines, facing the toughest time in its history, said recently it has offered a voluntary retirement plan to employes at all levels.

The national flag carrier, which has long been one of Asia’s most luxurious and profitable, has been hit hard by dropping passenger numbers after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Employes with Singapore Airlines for 15 years or more have been invited to apply for the “one-time” retirement offer, said an airline spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The important thing to note is that it’s by mutual consent,” the spokesman said. “The company has to decide whether or not they want you to go, and you have to be willing to go.”

Employes who are 45 or younger can negotiate for a maximum of 25 months’ pay if they retire under the plan, the spokesman said.

For those who are older, the 25-month cap drops by one month’s pay for every year of the employe’s age over 45. Other arrangements are made for those 59 and older, the spokesman said.

The maximum payment for those below the executive level will be 75,000 Singapore dollars (US$40,564), he said.

Singapore Airlines has recently cut salaries, reduced flights and cancelled orders for planes as it attempts to emerge from what its chief executive Cheong Choong Kong recently described as the “most difficult” period in the company’s 29-year history.

The airline’s net profit plunged 88 percent to 134.8 million Singapore dollars (US$72.9 million) for the first half of this fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, compared with last year.

Some analysts expect the company to post its first-ever full-year loss for the year ending March 31, 2002.

In addition to reduced passenger numbers after Sept. 11, Singapore Airlines has been hit by an economic downturn at home. The wealthy Southeast Asian city-state is currently in the worst recession in its 36-year history, after decades of booming economic growth.

The airline on Wednesday said its passenger seat factor in November 2001 fell to 66.9 percent from 76 percent in Nov. 2000.

The load factor measures how efficiently an airline uses capacity.

Singapore Airlines has previously offered the voluntary retirement plan to employees at executive levels and above. This is the first time it is being extended to all levels, the spokesman said.