A staff notification on Air India letterhead that claims that the airline would shut down permanently by 1 October, creating panic among employees on Friday, 24 August, has been found to be fake, reported The Times of India.
The fake letter, which announced the company’s closure and suggested that employees look for work elsewhere, was also circulated on WhatsApp.
Aviation secretary RN Choubey and Air India chairman PS Kharola declared the letter fake and stated that a probe will be carried out to find the person responsible for it, the report added.
Air India also tweeted out a clarification, confirming that the letter was a fake.
While the fake notification, printed on Air India letterhead, dropped a bombshell on the employees, the letter itself, once read, was a giveaway.
While the subject line on the fake notification stated that “Air India to be closed permanently on 1st October, 2018, as per Government Order”, the body claimed that a Supreme Court memorandum was the reason behind the airline’s closure.
The reasons behind the closure of the airline are stated as poor profit margins and stagnant growth, due to which the government is unable to bail out the company. The letter also added that a decision on compensation for all permanent employees would be taken later.
“It is fake and a very poor quality fake,” a senior official told The Times of India.
(With inputs from The Times of India.)
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