Worrisome Trend as 3,652 Employees Leave Kenya Airways in 2020

Leading East African airline, Kenya Airways, lost a total of 3,652 employees in 2020 through a series of retrenchments, voluntary/early retirements, and of course resignations. This was due to the adverse effects of the Coronavirus pandemic which had halted global travels and inevitably impacted negatively on the company’s financials during the period.

Business Elites Africa understands that as part of Kenya Airway’s strategic approach to survive the pandemic, it had resorted to a hiring freeze, unpaid compulsory leaves for some staff and even outright retrenchment of some other staff. Those who were not effected by neither the retrenchment nor the unpaid leave were forced to take between 35% and 75% pay cuts.

Amid all these developments, a lot of staff were understandably worried and fearful for their jobs. Eventually, those who could no longer bear the uncertainty decided to leave on their own. As a matter of fact,  a total number of 561 either resigned or voluntarily resigned.

In the meantime, analysts are projecting that the company’s recovery from the COVID-induced economic downturn may take a long time. In specific terms, aviation experts have projected a 3-year time-frame before the industry can fully recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

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Note that Kenya Airways reported a loss of KSh 36.2 million according to a copy of its audited full-year 2020 financial statement which was obtained from the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Chairman of the company’s Board, Michael Joseph, commented on the abysmal performance and gave an outlook regarding what is expected in 2021 and beyond.

“The COVID-19 global outbreak in 2020 was beyond anyone’s prediction and its impact on the industry is expected to continue affecting air travel demand for the next 2 to 3 years, during which time, the industry projects demand to remain at levels significantly lower than 2019. During this time, Kenya Airways will ensure that it operates the right sized network, continuously improve customer experience, and continue to drive cost opimisation while maximising revenue generation. We have taken bold and proactive measures to protect our people and guests as we restructure our business to position ourselves for recovery,” said the Chairman.