A report recently came out that Cebu Pacific is carrying a “staff right-sizing” plan to further cope with the covid-19 pandemic and the situation in the Philippines. However, others were quick to conclude that Cebu Pacific was planning another round of retrenchment. In reality, this is not the case as “staff right-sizing” may go three ways. Hence, Cebu Pacific will no longer reduce its workforce as the airline also says.
What does “staff right-sizing actually mean”?
The term “staff right-sizing” can go three ways. These are:
- Cebu Pacific may add more crew and employees as not to be understaff in the future which may cause cancellations just like what’s happening in some U.S.-based airlines.
- They may maintain the present work force but assign them new roles or even extra roles in order for the airline to operate efficiently,
- Last, it may mean workforce reduction which is something which we don’t want to happen.
In 2020, Cebu Pacific had to let go of more than a thousand cabin crew, pilots, ground staff, and other employees as a result of the plummet in air travel demand. The covid-19 pandemic is considered the worse crisis to hit the airline industry. It was the darkest time in Philippine aviation as an average of 5,000 people in the airline industry lost their jobs.
While we all thought the airline industry in the Philippines shall start making a recovery by 2021, things went the opposite. Lockdowns, inconsistencies in travel requirements, capacity restrictions, and covid-19 surges continue to hammer the airline industry in the country. Survival is everything for the airlines, and right staff-sizing plays a major role.
Is it 100% sure that Cebu Pacific will no longer be reducing its workforce?
So far and as of this writing, workforce reductions or retrenchment are not on the table. However, we just hope that the airlines in the Philippines begin to recover in order to reduce further reductions. Airlines in other parts of the world have begun recalling crew members from unpaid leaves and asking them to report for work. Middle East airlines like Qatar Airways are currently hiring new cabin crew!
We do remain optimistic that the Philippine aviation industry would go the same way too but for now, let us hope that government officials may come up with better solutions to help a key industry that greatly drives economic activity.
