Garuda 'may sell' headquarters building

Garuda 'may sell' headquarters building

JAKARTA (JP): National flagship carrier Garuda may sell or
lease its headquarters building in Jakarta to help it weather the
grim financial storm, news reports said on Thursday.

Antara quoted its source as saying that the ailing airline
would move out of its current office located in one of Jakarta's
most strategic business districts to a more modest area at the
airport compound.

"Garuda will soon build an office facility at the Garuda
Maintenance Facility area in the Soekarno-Hatta airport," the
source said.

The source said the airline would proceed with the plan after
it began streamlining its workforce.

Garuda's spokesman Pudjobroto declined to confirm the reports,
acknowledging only a plan to move the management close to the
airport maintenance facility to closely monitor daily operations.

Garuda President Robby Djohan has announced that the airline
will lay-off some 3,000 of its 12,732 employees as early as next
month to survive the deepening crisis.

Some of the workers will be given golden handshakes while the
remainder will be moved to its subsidiaries, including PT Gapura,
PT Aerowisata and Mandira.

The airline is also planning to sell a $300 million
maintenance facility unit as a cost-saving measure, as well as
several aircraft including five DC-10s, and several Foker 28s.

The European consortium Airbus Industrie has agreed to roll
over $750 million of debt owed by the troubled carrier for the
lease of six Airbus 330 aircraft.

Garuda, like the remaining four operating scheduled domestic
carriers, is enduring the country's worst economic turmoil in
decades with soaring operational costs and sinking income. (das)