SIA to outsource IT work, 130 staff laid off

SIA to outsource IT work, 130 staff laid off

Agence France-Presse, Singapore

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Friday it will lay off 130 staff from its information technology (IT) division in the second round of outsourcing reforms announced by the national carrier in less than a week.

SIA released a statement saying the functions to be outsourced to an un-named IT service provider by the end of the year were the data center, help desk and end-user computing support.

"The outsourced functions provide IT support to various areas of SIA's business and it is envisioned that operations will see improvements in efficiency and productivity," the statement said.

It added that the 130 employees would be offered jobs with the service provider on "comparable remuneration packages".

However an SIA spokeswoman could not provide any other details of the new jobs, such as whether they would be permanent or contract work.

The statement said the outsourcing of the 130 jobs would initially cost about S$10 million (US$5.9 million), then lead to annual savings of S$15 million.

The announcement came after SIA, one of the world's premier airlines and a major employer in the city-state, said on Monday it would shed 70 jobs in its finance division by the end of the year through outsourcing.

Airport ground handler and inflate catering service provider Singapore Airport Terminal Services, which SIA has an 85 percent stake in, also said on Wednesday it had laid off 108 permanent staff and outsourced another 1,064 jobs.

Most sectors of Singapore's aviation industry are undergoing major restructuring as they seek to lower costs in the face of increasing regional competition primarily caused by the budget airline phenomenon.