Mumbai, Jet Airways decided to lay off 1,100 additional employees in the next few days on Wednesday, according to a top official.

Earlier in the day, Jet said it has retrenched 800 flight attendants and suspended its expansion programme, adding that it will also cut flights because of a slowdown in demand.

The additional job cuts would be across all categories and departments, Executive Director Saroj Datta told reporters in a televised press conference.

Wolfgang Prock Schauer, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways, during a news conference in Mumbai, said the suspension of employees had nothing to do with the planned alliance with Kingfisher Airlines.

"This has nothing to do with the planned alliance or cooperation with Kingfisher. This alliance is aimed to strength the economic viability of the two airlines. But what we are doing here is an adjustment to lower the number of flights. It has nothing to do with the planned cooperation with kingfisher," said Schauer.

Jet Airways, in a statement, said it would reduce probationary and temporary workers in other areas, including management and pilots, as it planned to cut flights by about 15 per cent over winter.

Meanwhile, Raj Thackeray led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) raised slogans and clashed with policemen outside the airlines'' office in Mumbai, protesting against the lay-off on Wednesday.

“The Indian aviation industry, which has combined revenue of six billion dollars, is expected to lose two billion dollars in the year to March 2009,” Jet said.

In September, Jet had said the company and its budget arm JetLite offered 526 flights daily with a fleet of 109 aircraft.

On Monday, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, which between them have about 60 per cent of the domestic market, agreed on an alliance to cut costs through code-sharing, sharing of ticketing, ground services, joint fuel management, crew training and utilisation.

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