Reports on voluntary buyouts to employees 'false': Air India

Air India officials on 18 July refuted reports that the national airline carrier is drawing up a proposal to offer voluntary buyouts to just over a third of its 40, 000 employees before disinvestment.

"The media reports are baseless and totally false, even factually wrong. Air India and its subsidiaries have nearly 20000 employees. Among them Air India has only 11,500 employees. Air India management has not offered their employees for voluntary buyouts," Air India Spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said.

On June 28, the Union Cabinet gave 'in-principle' nod for disinvestment of stakes in the airline after the NITI Ayog suggested on the same.

The state-owned airline has total liabilities of about Rs 60,000 crore, out of which Rs 52,000 crore is bank debt and it owes Rs 8,000 crore to oil PSUs and Airports Authority of India.

The airline was given a bailout package in 2012 by the UPA government of which it has so far received Rs 24,000 crore. Air India was nationalised in 1953.

-ANI