Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) lecturer Shazali Abu Mansor said those retrenched, mostly from the industries that were badly-affected, such as tourism, hospitality and aviation, face great difficulty in finding new jobs.

He said as new jobs were hard to get due to the slow pace of recovery in the corporate world, all those who are now unemployed needed immediate support from the government.

“Those retrenched should be helped regardless of the company they worked for. Just imagine, what can retrenched flight attendants and pilots really do? Their expertise is in the airline industry.

“The government must help (by providing the funds) to retrain them and also give some allowances during the course of their training. I believe there must be companies willing to hire them,” he told Bernama.

Budget 2021 is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament on Nov 6.

The pandemic’s adverse effects on the aviation industry has seen many airlines resorting to massive cost-cutting measures, including layoffs.

Low-cost airline AirAsia had in early June reduced more than 250 of its staff. On Oct 9, the airline confirmed another 10% retrenchment of its 24,000-strong workforce to ensure its survival.

Meanwhile, hybrid full-service carrier Malindo Airways was reported to have cut about 2,200 jobs (more than half of its 3,200-strong workforce) and reduced its fleet size to 11 airplanes.

As for Malaysia Airlines Bhd and Firefly, their parent company Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) had on Oct 22 offered an early retirement scheme to employees with gratuity payment of up to three months’ salary.

The MAG Early Retirement Application scheme is targeted at Malaysia-based employees aged 45 and above who have served the company continuously for a minimum of 10 years, which also includes their years of service in the previous Malaysia Airlines group.