Jet Airways gives the pink slip to 850 employees

New Delhi: Jet Airways has laid off 850 employees and they will be given their termination notices on Wednesday.

The cut will eliminate at least seven per cent of Jet Airway's staff strength and the move comes a day after it entered into a strategic tie-up with liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines.

Jet Chairman Naresh Goyal claims the cost of running the business has gone up by 30 per cent and what the company did what necessary to stay viable.

This is happening as aviation companies struggle to cut losses on account of the global financial crisis and high aviation turbine fuel prices.

It is the third time that the carrier has trimmed its workforce. Earlier in 2007, it had cut staff by 1,200 after it took over Air Sahara and in August this year, JetLite offered a voluntary separation scheme to over 700 employees.

However, this is the first time that the axe is falling on Jet Airways employees directly.

Sources say Kingfisher, which has about 10,000 employees, is also likely to lay off staff.

There's been a slowdown in both domestic and international air traffic on account of the downturn and the Indian domestic airline sector is staring at losses of over Rs 4000 crore.