Eastar Jet, Over 90 Apply for Voluntary Retirement... Remaining Employees to Face Layoffs

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] It is reported that about 90 employees applied for voluntary retirement ahead of the resale of Eastar Jet.

Eastar Jet plans to lay off the remaining 600 employees out of the initially planned 700 personnel reductions as part of organizational slimming.

According to Eastar Jet on the 31st, a total of 91 people applied for voluntary retirement by the noon deadline, including 34 general staff, 31 cabin crew, 20 maintenance staff, and 6 flight operations personnel.

An Eastar Jet official said, "The company may refuse voluntary retirement for essential personnel among the applicants," adding, "Those who are not essential personnel will be allowed to take voluntary retirement."

Eastar Jet set conditions for voluntary retirement, including priority payment of unpaid wages, a consolation payment equivalent to one month’s regular wage, priority reemployment upon business normalization, and signing an agreement regarding these terms.

Eastar Jet plans to reduce about 700 employees excluding the approximately 420 personnel required to operate six aircraft. The number of layoffs excluding voluntary retirees is expected to be around 600.

The list of layoff candidates will be announced on the 7th of next month, with the planned layoff date set for October 6. However, strong opposition from the Eastar Jet Pilots Union is expected, which may complicate the completion of the layoff process.

The search for a new owner of Eastar Jet is ongoing. Deloitte Anjin Accounting Corporation, Yulchon LLC, and Heungkuk Securities, who are managing the sale, plan to send letters of intent to prospective investors within this week.

Earlier, on the 28th, Eastar Jet held a kickoff meeting with the sale management team to review the schedule and progress related to the resale.

After sending the letters of intent, Eastar Jet plans to select a preferred negotiator, sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU), and apply for court receivership as early as late September or October.

Regarding the Eastar Jet merger and acquisition (M&A), which previously fell through once with Jeju Air, it is reported that several large funds and companies have expressed investment intentions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.