Further job losses at SIA viewed as inevitable<\/p>\n
Deutsche Press-Agentur, Singapura<\/p>\n
Further job losses at Singapore Airlines (SIA) will be
\ninevitable as the national carrier cuts costs and some of its
\nwork is outsourced to India or elsewhere, Senior Minister Lee
\nKuan Yew said in a published interview on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
"The luxury of just carrying on as before is something we
\ncannot afford," Singapore's founding father told The Straits
\nTimes.<\/p>\n
Lee said the key question before SIA and Changi Airport was
\nwhether they could continue to compete in a changed environment.<\/p>\n
Both have to deal now with the emergence of low-cost carriers
\nin the region, the risk of long-range aircraft bypassing
\nSingapore and the threat of new air hubs, said Lee, prime
\nminister for three decades until he turned over the post to Goh
\nChok Tong in 1990.<\/p>\n
Noting these trends have already changed the face of aviation
\nin Europe and the United States, Lee said, "I'm not saying it's
\ngoing to happen in six months' time but I think ... two to three
\nyears".<\/p>\n
SIA is moving to set up its own budget airline, Tiger Airways.
\nAnother headed by an SIA veteran is also planning to start this
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Lee and other ministers earlier warned SIA's pilots that the
\ngovernment would not allow them to hold the airline to ransom by
\ntaking a confrontational stance.<\/p>\n
The government said it was removing the right of pilots' union
\nmembers to have final say in any negotiations with management.
\nInstead decisions would be up to the union's elected leaders.<\/p>\n
Staff and management took cuts ranging between 5 per cent and
\n27.5 per cent during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
\noutbreak earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The company reversed a first-ever loss in the April-June
\nquarter to make a S$306 million (US$170 million) profit in the
\nsucceeding quarter.<\/p>\n
Disgruntled pilots voted out their union leadership on
\nNovember 17, accusing the executive council of giving in too
\neasily to management in accepting wage cuts and layoffs at the
\nheight of SARS.<\/p>\n
The carrier sacked 596 personnel during the outbreak, the
\nbiggest job-cuts in its 31-year history.<\/p>",
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