| August 10, 2008 |
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JAKARTA - The Indonesian government has decided to increase the working capital for PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines with some 300 billion Rupiah (22 million euro). The funds will be used for lay-off premiums for 1.300 employees and to upgrade the 19 planes that are owned by the company. This decision was made during a cabinet meeting that was chaired by president Yudhoyono. "Some 223 billion Rupiah will be used for lay-off premiums for some 1.300 staff members. They will receive the money this month," said Sofyan Djalil directly after the meeting. The capital injection is done to save the company and to keep it operational for flights in the eastern part of Indonesia. The government also agreed on a new business plan that would put propeller planes back into operation. Merpati will also move it's hub from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport near Jakarta to Hassanuddin Airport near Makassar. 850 flights, flight engineers and crew will be handed over to Garuda Indonesia temporarily. They will still be employees of Merpati, but they will get retrained at Garuda. |