IPTN to shed 4,000 staff and two directorates
IPTN to shed 4,000 staff and two directorates
BANDUNG (JP): State aircraft company PT IPTN, often called
inefficient for employing 16,565 people, will be restructured,
the general manager said yesterday.
Hari Laksono, also senior executive vice president, said the
company's number of directorates would be cut from five to three.
The reorganization would result in the transfer of about 4,000
employees to IPTN's subsidiaries, Hari said.
The divisions to be scrapped are the directorate of production
and directorate of commerce. The research and development
directorate, fixed wing directorate and non-fixed wing
directorate will remain.
The research and development directorate will be led by Said
D. Djenie, the fixed wing directorate by Ilham Akbar Habibie and
the non-fixed wing directorate by Yusman.
The heads of directorates will be on a par with senior vice
presidents and they will report directly to the managing
director, B.J. Habibie, also the state minister of research and
technology.
Djenie had been the senior vice president of the advanced
technology division, which specializes in research on an
Indonesian satellite and other projects. Ilham Akbar and Yusman
had been chairmen of N-2130 and N-250 projects respectively.
Hari said the non-fixed wing directorate would manufacture
components for products outside the company, including missiles,
weapons, rocket equipment and helicopters.
The universal maintenance center, previously managed by Hari,
will become an independent unit to provide maintenance services
for non-aviation products and the company's industrial machinery.
The Humpuss group, controlled by President Soeharto's youngest
son Hutomo Mandala Putra, and two other companies are expected to
manage the center, which has 950 staff, according to weekly
newsmagazine Tiras.
"Support departments including finance, human resources,
information systems, supplies, strategic planning and other
departments will be set up, although a corporate secretary would
not necessarily follow because everything is already being
coordinated," Hari said.
He said he would assume the position of deputy managing
director to assist Habibie. Each of the company's new core units
would be given one month to consolidate their operations.
PT IPTN, established 20 years ago, has 16,565 staff: 2,220
hold bachelor's degrees in engineering and 50 are doctoral
graduates.
"One thousand of our staff are due to return from overseas
studies," Hari said.
Tiras estimates that 4,000 staff will be transferred to
maintain the company's target of a reduced workforce of 12,000.
Restructuring is expected to be completed before the May 29
general election.
It said the company, with assets of US$1.6 billion (Rp 3.5
trillion), experienced heavy losses of Rp 185.5 billion (US$77
million) in 1995. (ahy/01)