Air Incheon Staff Selection Process Underway
Restructuring Expected at Korean Air as Well
Korean Air is accelerating the merger process by moving up the date for acquiring new shares of Asiana Airlines by more than a week earlier than initially announced. In response, Asiana Airlines is undergoing workforce restructuring. It is expected that there will be a chain of personnel movements among affiliated airlines.
According to industry sources on the 4th, Asiana Airlines is selecting personnel to work at Air Incheon, which is set to acquire the cargo division through a sale. Employees will be chosen not only from the existing Asiana Airlines cargo division but also from other departments such as finance and accounting, with a certain proportion selected by job function. Following the European Commission's (EC) final approval of the merger at the end of last month, the process appears to be moving forward in earnest. An Asiana Airlines employee, Mr. A, said, "I heard an announcement will be made soon," adding, "The company situation is so uncertain that everyone is restless and anxious."
Korean Air also announced that it will move up the closing date (payment date) for the new share acquisition contract from the 20th of this month to the 11th. Accordingly, Korean Air plans to pay the remaining 800 billion KRW out of the total 1.5 trillion KRW acquisition price for Asiana Airlines' new shares (excluding 300 billion KRW in perpetual bonds) to finalize the transaction. This will be in the form of Korean Air participating in a third-party allotment capital increase of Asiana Airlines. Once the deal is closed, Korean Air will secure a 63.88% stake in Asiana Airlines and incorporate it as a subsidiary.
This is expected to be followed by workforce restructuring within Korean Air. Since executive personnel changes usually occur in January, it is reported that Korean Air is currently selecting personnel to be dispatched to Asiana Airlines. Among employees, there are even concerns that those labeled as "low performers" might be transferred to Asiana Airlines. A Korean Air official stated regarding this, "Some personnel will be dispatched, but the criteria and scale have not yet been determined." Korean Air Chairman Cho Won-tae has also emphasized, "There will be no artificial restructuring after the merger."
Asiana Airlines will initially operate as an independent company for the next two years after being incorporated as a subsidiary of Korean Air. Korean Air has already begun work on establishing an integrated corporate identity (CI). While operating Asiana Airlines as a subsidiary, Korean Air plans to prepare for long-term workforce and business restructuring.
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