Lower package but tempting

SEPANG: The fresh pay package for the new MAS Bhd employees is ge­nerally lower than the existing one but it comes with a two-month bonus for those who sign on, sour­ces said.

And since it is performance dri­ven, the eventual amount an employee can take home is potentially the same or more than what he or she takes home now, a source said.

“There is a reduction in the remuneration package,” revealed an employee who was offered to work at MAS Bhd.

“Some of the benefits we used to get are missing,” added another employee.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) chief executive officer Christoph Mueller declined to comment on the matter when asked yesterday.

However, he did say that the new airline will be a full fledged international airline, instead of being regionally focused as earlier stated.

He added that MAS’ lucrative KL-London route would be retained and the new airline would provide connectivity on all continents via its oneworld alliance and partnerships.

“Not a single domestic destination will be reduced, it will remain intact,’’ Mueller told a room full of newsmen at the new airline company’s head office in Sepang yesterday.

The entire domestic network is run by MAS and its subsidiaries, Firefly and MASwings.

Even before MAS Bhd could take off on Sept 1, it had sold one million seats and all the frequent flyer Enrich points would be honoured, added Mueller.

Yesterday marked an important milestone in Malaysia’s aviation history with MAS terminating its entire workforce of 20,000 staff.

“June 1 is when new MAS Bhd starts trading. Its first transaction is to offer 14,000 jobs.

“Although it is a good day to send out offer letters to the 14,000 employees, it is also a sad day for 6,000 others who would lose their jobs.

“I thank the employees of MAS for their tremendous services,” Mueller said during the media conference, his first in this role.

This is the first time a government-linked company has axed its entire workforce.

“We are technically bankrupt. The decline of performance started long before the tragic events of 2014,” he said.

The remaking of the airline will take three years and Mueller only expects MAS Bhd to break even in 2018.

MAS stops trading on Sept 1, and the MH code will be transferred from the existing company to the new one.

On the branding, Mueller will leave it to Malaysians to decide.

He added that the MH brand was strong among loyal customers but, in some countries, it was beyond repair and the constant reminder of the MH370 tragedy would only refresh everyone’s memories.

One example of the impact, said Mueller, could be seen when MAS decided to give away seats for free but could not even fill the entire air­craft.

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