Lufthansa announces 1,000 job cuts in administration

Lufthansa announced plans to cut 1,000 of a total of 5,000 jobs in administration, as the flagship German carrier battles to survive the COVID-19 crisis. According to the firm, the number of executive positions throughout Lufthansa Group is to be reduced by 20 per cent, equivalent to 200 jobs. However, having downsized the executive board of the Lufthansa parent company, the corporation now plans similar actions at its subsidiaries, with Lufthansa Cargo AG, LSG Group, and Lufthansa Aviation Training to lose one board position each. Lufthansa said its finances were now secure, after shareholders approved a multibillion-euro bailout from the German Government and commitments  made by the governments of Austria and Switzerland.

“The complete repayment of government loans and investments, including interest payments, will place an additional burden on the company in the coming years, making sustainable cost reductions inevitable for this reason as well,”it said. According to the company’s calculations, the catastrophic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on air travel has resulted in 22,000 full-time positions becoming surplus across the Lufthansa Group, which has around 138,000 employees.

However, Lufthansa said it was working to avoid lay-offs where possible. The company is currently in negotiations with German trade union giant,Verdi and Vereinigung Cockpit, which represents pilots, on restructuring measures aimed at the battered airline’s recovery.

Meanwhile, an agreement had already been reached with the Ufo union, which represents cabin crew. In April, Lufthansa announced it would cut its fleet by 100 planes over the medium term and to shut down its German wings budget subsidiary completely. The group, which includes: the brands Swiss, Austrian, Eurowings and Brussels in its portfolio, is in talks with aircraft manufacturers on delaying deliveries of planes on order. Meanwhile, current budgeting up to 2023 provided for at most 80 new planes to be delivered. This represents an investment cut of around half in new planes.(dpa/NAN)