Major staff cuts loom at BMTA

Major staff cuts loom at BMTA

The debt-ridden Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) plans to cut at least 5,000 employees as a result of its new restructuring plan endorsed by the cabinet on Tuesday.

Under the plan, the 118-billion-baht accumulated debts of the city's bus service authority will be transferred to the Finance Ministry with the requirement that the BMTA must have surplus earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDA) by 2023.

A source close to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said the cabinet had approved in principle for the authority to transfer its huge debts to the ministry to pave the way for restructuring.

The BMTA will be also required to cut employees by at least 5,000 through an early retirement programme from a total workforce of 13,599.

The plan is to reduce the number of staff to a ratio of 2.75 persons to one bus by 2022 from 5.14 persons currently, the source said.

To do so, based on the 2,645 buses it currently runs, it could mean having to cut more that 6,300 people in total.

The source said the Finance Ministry also requires the BMTA to improve services and revenue by introducing e-tickets and purchasing 3,000 new buses, as well as increasing the minimum fare on air-conditioned buses from 16 baht to 24 baht by 2022.

Each of these moves must be proposed to the cabinet project by project, he said.

Meanwhile, the same source said the cabinet has also agreed to increase the government's allocation to a housing scheme for low-income earners to 89,800 baht per family in the next fiscal budget, up from the 80,000 baht it provides at present.

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