Abstract

The case is about the retrenchment drama that unfolded in one of India’s leading aviation companies, Jet Airways (India) Limited (Jet), in late 2008. After showing the door to more than 1000 employees in a bid to streamline its operations, Jet was faced with immense criticism and opposition by various organizations and political parties. Jet’s chairman Naresh Goyal (Goyal) reinstated the employees a day later saying that he was not aware of these sackings. The Indian aviation industry was going through a tough phase and experts felt that it was in the interest of the company to retrench employees to remain competitive. Experts largely felt that Goyal had capitulated under pressure from external parties while others felt that all may not be well with the organizational communication mechanisms at Jet.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the HR problems faced by Jet Airways in 2008. Discuss various concepts related to hiring, firing, and compensation management. Understand the rationale behind Jet’s decision to lay-off employees and the reason’s behind its later decision to take b

Keywords

Hiring, Firing, Retrenchment, Lay-off, HR policies, Decision-making, Organizational communication, Compensation management, Training, Legal, Political, Aviation, India, Jet, Kingfisher