Malaysia Airlines to slash 6,000 jobs in survival bid

Malaysia Airlines will slash thousands of staff, trim its route network, and replace its CEO under a plan announced Aug. 29 to stave off bankruptcy after two air tragedies plunged the already troubled carrier deeper into crisis.

State investment fund Khazanah Nasional, which has taken control of the failing flag carrier, said it planned to pump 6 billion ringgit ($1.9 billion) into the airline, hoping the changes will return the company to profitability within three years.

Khazanah's Managing Director Azman Mokhtar said, however, there were no plans to change the carrier's name - now deeply tarnished by its association with the MH370 and MH17 tragedies.

"The combination of measures announced today will enable our national airline to be revived," said Azman.

Aviation analysts, however, said it far too early to predict whether the scheme would work, citing a lack of detail, intense industry competition, and the airline's severely tarnished brand name.        

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has bled money for years through what analysts say has been poor management and a failure to rise to the challenge of intensifying competition.

But the sudden association with tragedy for an airline that previously had a solid safety record has pushed the 68-year-old company to the brink of collapse.

MH370 mysteriously vanished on March 8 with 239 passengers and crew aboard, while MH17 went down on July 18 - believed hit by a surface-to-air missile - over rebellion-torn eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on the plane.

Focus to region

The restructuring plan will see about 6,000 - or 30 percent - of the airline's nearly 20,000 employees eventually lose their jobs to help put MAS on a "right footing in terms of...