Ryanair has told employees to prepare for hundreds of job cuts in the coming weeks because it has more staff than it currently needs. CEO Michael O’Leary told his staff that the airline has 900 more people than the airline needs to operate.
Citing a “no-deal” Brexit potential as a partial cause, O’Leary told employees he’ll have to decide on the futures of over 500 pilots and 400 cabin crew right before the end of August. The Ryanair CEO said:
“I am sorry to advise you that this means we have to cut our aircraft numbers – and our staffing – not just in summer 2020, but also in winter 2019.”
This month Ryanair said it would cut the number of 737 MAX jets that will fly next summer from 58 to 30 due to those delays. O’Leary’s staff announcement came after the company released its financial results for the first quarter to 30 June, just as Ryanair faces the prospect of pilot strikes in the UK and Ireland next month.
Earlier this week the airline CEO said there were no current plans for pay concessions to resolve the row with pilots. He also said the timing of the strike action as “chronically ill-judged” given the challenges facing the airline.
As it announced a 21% decline in profit after tax to €243m (£219m) on Monday, Ryanair warned investors that “weak fares” would continue to hit profitability.