Cash-strapped SpiceJet has delayed the payment of salaries to many of its employees, as per CNBC-TV18.
The delay in salaries, as well as in depositing the money due to pension funds and taxes deducted from the salaries, has come at a time when the airline owned by Ajay Singh is considering layoffs.
The airline spokesperson told CNBC TV18 that the salaries have been paid to over 75 percent of the employees and that the pension fund dues will be deposited in the “near future”.
Reports of a cash crunch is bad for the airline. Some of the lessors are wary of extending the lease on the planes given to SpiceJet, sources said. There are at least eight operational aircraft where the lease would end in March 2024.
If the leases aren’t renewed for these eight, SpiceJet would have 35 planes grounded by March-end. The company is, however, confident. The Airline has 42 leased aircraft including those used for freight. “The airline, in fact, is actively engaged in discussions for additional long-term lease contracts, and the fleet, if anything, will only grow from here,” the spokesperson said in an email response.