German airline Lufthansa AG expects to lay off staff to compensate for losses suffered in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
The airline will shed staff members in all branches that are still in their probationary period and start forced redundancies if necessary, spokesman Klaus Walther told reporters at a news conference. He declined to comment on the number of jobs that would be cut.
Over the weekend, talks between Lufthansa and the giant ver.di labor union were discontinued as the two sides couldn`t agree on cost-cutting measures.
Lufthansa will start cutting the working hours for cabin crew and if this doesn`t sufficiently cut costs, the airline will discontinue contracts with pilots still in their probationary period, Walther said.
Walther called on the union to return to the negotiating table, saying the cuts agreed to so far amount to only about 165 million marks ($ 74 million), which was not enough to compensate for the company`s losses. The airline has lost about 30,000 daily passengers, which adds up to about 100 million marks ($ 45 million) per week, Walther said.
Although the company is not yet threatened with bankruptcy, measures must be taken to prevent any further losses.
In wake of the September 11 hijackings and attacks, the three leading US airlines laid off more than 90,000 employees as the sector plunged into losses. European and other carriers followed suit.
Since September 11, Lufthansa has dropped marginal routes and idled 43 aircraft. It had suggested a possible four-day work week and said it would try to avoid laying off any of its 69,500 employees.
The airline has added a $ 16 surcharge per round trip ticket to cover added security measures such as strengthened cockpit doors and additional background checks on employees. Bureau Report