AeroNigeria’s financially troubled airline, Aero Contractors, which had been acquired by the Assets Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON, because it could no longer pay its huge debts, has sacked at least 100 support staff, a report said on Friday, but the company reacted angrily, explaining that it only reviewed a contract with Skyborne.
Online newspaper, Woleshadare.net, quoted a media consultant for the airline as saying that in the course of “reorgansing and repositioning its business”, Aero Contractors has reviewed its relationship with Skyborne by cutting down some of the services required from the company.
“This will help the company to invest more resources to enhance customer service. For the record Aero has not sacked any of its staff,” said the statement by Mr. Simon Tumba.
AMCON, which owns over 70 per cent shares in the company had appointed months ago the immediate past Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Fola Akinkuotu as its Managing Director. But it seems things are yet to pick up and services are now been cut.
A letter to one of the devastated staff read: “Dear colleague, in the light of the ongoing restructuring at Aero, we regret to inform you that your services are no longer required and employment with SBL terminated with immediate effect.
“Please, return all company properties to your Manager/Supervisor by 8am on 28/04/2016. We regret any inconvenience caused,” the letter to staff read.
Woleshadare.net said those who were mostly affected by the sack were support staff who had spent some few years with the carrier.
It quoted a source as saying that some departments and workers were outsourced by the management since the airline no longer required their services, it was better for them to be relieved of their jobs, insisting that no staff of the airline was affected by the management decision.
He said, “Those laid off were not staff of our airline. You know in Aero, some departments and duties are outsourced. So what the management did was not to renew their contracts once it expired.
“I can tell you that our staff are intact and we don’t have the plans to retrench workers. We didn’t have the need of those outsourced and we felt they should be withdrawn from our services.”