Indonesia's cash-strapped Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara(IPTN) plans to spin off its rotary wing work, defence and space systems into subsidiaries as part of its restructuring plan. The move is a prelude to eventual privatisation, says IPTN.
According to IPTN's aircraft unit executive vice-president Ilham Habibie, the rotary wing, defence systems and space systems businesses will become subsidiaries of IPTN's fixed-wing business unit in an effort to "give management more of an opportunity to focus on its business".
The company is owned by a state holding company, Pakarya Industri, under the Ministry of Empowerment of State-Owned Companies.
At the start of this year, IPTN embarked on a programme to cut 5,200 jobs - a third of its workforce - over two years. This has accelerated. Habibie says 3,000 have been cut back, "mainly by early retirement", and 2,000 are expected to go by the end of this year.
The company is struggling to fund its own aircraft programmes, seeking an investor to keep the N250 turboprop programme alive. "We are continuing on a low development level," says Habibie. Production of the third prototype aircraft, PA3, is at a standstill.
Source: Flight International