MUMBAI: Cash-starved Jet Airways on Wednesday deferred March salary payment to its employees, citing "complexities" involved in the finalisation of the debt-recast plan. A State Bank of India (SBI)-led consortium of lenders has taken over the management control of the airline.
The airline has been delaying the salaries of its pilots, engineers and senior staff since August.
The company has over 16,000 employees on its payroll.
"Given the complexities of such (finalisation of the resolution plan) processes, it has taken us longer than expected. However, we continue to strive and are in continuous deliberations with lenders and institutions to find a solution.
"In light of the current situation, please note that salaries for March 2019 will be deferred," Jet Airways chief people officer Rahul Taneja said in a communication to staff on Wednesday.
Though the management did not give a specific date for payment, it said the company will provide an update on the issue on 9 April.
On March 25, the Jet Airways board approved a resolution plan formulated by SBI-led domestic lenders, under which it agreed to infuse an emergency funding of ₹1,500 crore into the airline, and convert the same into equity worth 50.1% for a notional value of just Re 1 each share.
However, the funds are yet to be disbursed due to "technical" reasons.
"In the current difficult times, the management team has been working with lenders and other institutions to finalise a resolution plan, which will help us stabilise our operations and build a sustainable future for the airline," he added.
Jet Airways said it was making every "possible effort" to remit salaries at the earliest. "We will provide you an update on the status of the pay-out by 9 April 2019," he added.
Also read: SBI charts a new course for Jet without Naresh Goyal, Etihad
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed
