Two top SpiceJet executives resign amid 'strategic restructuring'

The crisis at the struggling budget carrier SpiceJet deepened further as two of senior executives quit the airline on March 11, the airline said, confirming CNBC-TV18 newsbreak.

SpiceJet Chief Operating Officer Arun Kashyap and Chief Commercial Officer Shilpa Bhatia have parted ways with Ajay Singh-promoted airline.

“As part of SpiceJet’s strategic restructuring, several members of the commercial team including the Chief Commercial Officer have left the company with immediate effect,” SpiceJet spokesperson said in a statement.

Interestingly, both Kashyap and Bhatia were serving the airline a second time.

Kashyap had earlier joined Air India after quitting Ajay Singh's aviation venture. He returned to SpiceJet in June last year. Bhatia, on the other hand, returned to the Gurugram-based airline just before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. She was with IndiGo after resigning from SpiceJet in August 2019.

In its statement, the airline added that with the recent fund raise, it has speeded up the process of resolution of all past disputes.

Separately, sources had in February told CNBC-TV18 that the cash-strapped airline has delayed the payment of salaries to many of its employees.

The delay in salaries, as well as in depositing the money due to pension funds and taxes deducted from the salaries, has come at a time when the airline owned by Ajay Singh is considering layoffs.

In response to queries from CNBC-TV18, the airline spokesperson said that the salaries have been paid to over 75% of the employees and that the pension fund dues will be deposited in the "near future".