Lufthansa Group just announced permanent, group-wide cuts on capacity and further reductions of personnel, due to the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) on travel.
The airline had just agreed with the German government on a 9-billion-euro rescue package, but now says the outlook for international air traffic has significantly worsened in recent weeks. The company said:
“With the summer travel season coming to an end, passenger and booking figures are declining again, after slight signs of recovery were still evident in July and August.”
Lufthansa said the available seat kilometers will probably only be between 20 and 30 percent of the previous year’s value, compared to the 50 percent that was the initial forecast.
The German air carrier plans to reduce its fleet by an additional 50 aircraft from the 100 it had announced. The fleet reduction will result in the loss of even more jobs than its estimated 22,000 full-time positions. The announcement went on to say:
“The change in permanent staffing levels within flight operations will be further adjusted in regards to market development. The compensation and reduction of personnel surplus will be discussed with the responsible employee representatives.”
Lufthansa also said it will cut 20 percent of its management positions by the first quarter of 2021 and reduce its administrative office space in Germany by 30 percent.
Source: GTP