CEO warns JobKeeper could be lost if Virgin sale fails

VIRGIN Australia chief executive Paul Scurrah has warned stood-down employees they will lose access to JobKeeper if next week’s creditors meeting votes against the sale to Bain Capital.

Speaking at a Tourism Australia webinar, Mr Scurrah said the size of the workforce and the fleet were also reliant on the deed of company arrangement (DOCA) winning the approval of creditors.

The airline’s 9000 employees represent the majority of Virgin Australia’s creditors and their support will be critical to the vote.

“If the DOCA is voted down, people won’t get access to JobKeeper and it will take longer (to emerge from administration) and we’ll probably end up with less jobs and less aircraft if that’s the case,” Mr Scurrah said. “But it’s looking pretty good for the DOCA and as of next Friday I think there will be a high level of confidence in the market about our future existence.”

In the event the DOCA is not supported, an asset sale would be undertaken to transfer ownership of Virgin Australia to Bain Capital; a process that could take several months.

Mr Scurrah said there was a “high level of gratitude at Virgin for a company such as Bain to have the courage to come and invest in an airline still in the middle of a pandemic”.

“We are really keen to reenter the long-haul international market as soon as it’s in a financial position to support us coming back in,” he said.

Most unions were yet to provide recommendations to members ahead of next Friday’s second creditors meeting. But Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association national secretary Steve Purvinas said his members would be voting in favour of the DOCA.