Lufthansa will cut 20% of its leadership positions and 1,000 administrative jobs in a restructuring plan that it announced on Tuesday July 7 to cope with fallout from the coronavirus crisis.
Lufthansa Group, which employs about 138,000 people, said that it will also halve its investment in new aircraft, although it said that that meant it could still add up to 80 new planes by 2023.
Shareholders backed a €9 billion government bailout last month, securing the future of Germany's flagship carrier after it was brought to the brink of collapse by the travel slump caused by the pandemic.
Lufthansa said on July 7 that it wants to reduce government loans and equity stakes as soon as possible to avoid an increase in interest charges, adding that higher rates would increase the financial burden on the company and demand more cost cuts.
The airline said that it has staff in 22,000 full-time positions that it no longer needs, but that it will try to avoid forced layoffs.
Lufthansa said that it is trying to reach agreement with trade unions on layoff plans, but that it has only been successful so far with the UFO union representing German cabin crew. It said that it is still in talks with unions representing pilots and ground staff.
The company said that it will speed up longstanding plans to make its core Lufthansa airline a separate corporate entity, aiming to give the unit a clearer direction, a spokesman said.
Aircraft Cuts And Germanwings
In April, Lufthansa decided to cut 100 aircraft from its fleet of approximately 760 and to not to resume operations of its budget carrier Germanwings.
It said on July 7 that it has already phased out 22 aircraft, including six Airbus A380, 11 Airbus A320 and five Boeing 747-400.
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