What MAS CEO Christoph Mueller Has To Say About The Fate Of 20,000 Employees
"I did not assume the role just to terminate jobs."
By Sadho Ram — 28 May 2015, 05:11 PM
As the 20,000 MAS employees await the coming Monday, 1 June 2015 - the date that will decide their fate, Chief Executive Officer Christoph Mueller, in an exclusive interview with a local daily, said that termination letters will be sent out to all the employees and only two-thirds of the staff will be offered jobs with a smaller entity
The MAS CEO lamented that it's unfortunate and very sad that the company had to let go talent, while adding that MAS, although, has highly qualified people for certain functions it did not have job placements for them in the restructuring, Malaysian Digest reported
Personally, he said, he is worried that the rebranding and reemployment exercise will potentially create "a two-class society, in that we will have winners and losers."
“And that is very regrettable,” he added.
In the report, Mueller said fair and equal treatment in the selection process for all staff was being worked on.
themalaysianinsider.com
"I did not assume the role just to terminate jobs."
As an interim solution, Mueller said MAS was actively looking to outplace some of their talent, including pilots to other airlines, with the option of taking them back one day.
“I have done similar things in my last job and that’s how we try to take care not to lose talent,” Mueller said. But he said it was difficult trying to match supply and demand for every position they needed in the new company.
While speaking with The Star, the newly hired Mueller said MAS had opted to send letters (of termination and offers) to the home addresses of staff next Monday, 1 June, to respect their wishes
He said it was important for staff who were not being absorbed into the new company to have an explanation and not be seen by neighbours as under-performers.
“That for me is the responsibility of management. To design a process so these people won’t lose their dignity,” he said.
Terminated employees will get a base payment depending on their performance and will also be entitled to an ex-gratia payment.
Meanwhile those offered jobs at MAS Bhd will also receive a bonus.
Mueller, however, said he did not expect 100% acceptance of the job offers. They have until 12 June to decide if they want to join up on new terms, according to Malaysian Digest.
"If we have an acceptance rate below 100%, we will have a second round and offer those jobs to people who did not receive offers the first time around," he said, adding if need be there might be a third round.
In the interview with The Star, Mueller said doesn't see himself as The Terminator, adding that he wants an end to the label which he described as "not nice".
He said the label, originally from a foreign press report of him reviving Ireland's Aer Lingus, was used by the person who wrote it.
"My wife called me and asked me what rubbish is that. I never hear that before, it’s just made up," he said.
The report stated that Mueller was dubbed The Terminator in Ireland because his German accent made for easy comparisons to Arnold Schwarzenegger in assassin-robot mode as he outlined his plans to fix Aer Lingus.
Mueller said reporters at the Irish Times or the Irish Independent would not have heard of him being described The Terminator while he was in Aer Lingus.
"By the way I have a German accent and not an Austrian accent," he added.
At least three years to overhaul the airline
Mueller said it will take at least three years to overhaul the airline, which is transporting 20% fewer passengers compared to last year. He likened the whole process to bringing a sports team from the second division to the first, saying it could not be done in one season and a certain dynamic needed to be created.
“I am not sure what sport you support but to bring a team from the second to the first division is not done in one season. You have to create a certain dynamic,” he said.
