Malindo Air has undergone further retrenchments to cut costs during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is expected that its present workforce of 3,200 will shrink down to just 1,000.

For many Malindo staff, they were offered a three-month salary severance package during this retrenchment. Many took to social media to share their experiences at the airline, leading to a flood of love on social media, from air stewardesses to pilots to on-ground staff alike.

Some even offered helpful tips on walking into joblessness.

While the outpouring of fondness from ex-crew and customers alike were tinged with sadness, a few raised some questions about the instability of the airline industry as a whole as well as Malindo Airway’s drastic retrenchment program.

Most notably, the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) has critisized the move, stating that Malindo was paid close to RM3 million by Socso under the Employee Retention Programme (ERP).

Nufam states that this payment meant that the airline should be able to retain most of its workers until the middle of next year.

Additionally, the airline had already put many of its workers on long-term leave until next July as well, as most Malindo staff have not received their salaries since June.

Regardless, many ex-airline staff are finding it difficult to hold on to their jobs as the industry stays crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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