Air India To Offer Nearly 98 Crore Shares To Employees Under Employees' Share Benefit: Report

Talace, a subsidiary of Tata Sons, acquired Air India, Air India Express, and the government's 50 per cent stake in Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd

An airline official told PTI that around 8,000 employees will benefit from the scheme.

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Air India is offering around 98 crore shares of the company to its permanent employees. According to the PTI, the move is part of the company’s stock option scheme. Citing a document news agency reported that shares are also being offered to the permanent employees of Air India Express as part of the Employees' Share Benefit (ESB) Scheme 2022.

Last year on January 27, Tata group took over debt-ridden Air India and Air India Express from the government. Since then it has been on the path of transformation. Talace, a subsidiary of Tata Sons, acquired Air India, Air India Express, and the government's 50 per cent stake in Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd.

An airline official told PTI that around 8,000 employees will benefit from the scheme.

"In accordance with the share purchase agreement signed as part of the disinvestment process, Air India has initiated the Employee Share Benefit Scheme for eligible employees who were in service with the airline on the date of privatisation. We will be working with the relevant employees to help them understand the long term benefits and avail of the same," an Air India spokesperson said.

Those who were permanent employees at the two carriers — Air India and Air India Express — at the time of the takeover will be qualified to take part in the plan where the shares are offered at a price of 27 paise each, the report said. The amount is less than the book value per share at the time of acquisition, which was between 87 and 90 pence. The ESB scheme will be managed by an employee trust that has been established.

"The trust shall hold the ESB shares to provide the ESB benefit to the eligible employees upon the payment of the aggregate exercise price together with all applicable taxes and amounts...," the document said.

".. any eligible employee retiring on or after January 27, 2022, will be deemed to be an eligible employee and will be entitled to the benefits in accordance with and subject to the terms of this scheme," as per the document.

The majority of the airline's 1,600 employees, according to a source at Air India Express, are contract workers. It has roughly 300 pilots that are on permanent rosters.