Low Demand Forces German Airline Lufthansa to Cut 22,000 Jobs

Airline company Lufthansa said that it will be cutting 22,000 jobs due to the low demand despite the coronavirus situation calming down around the globe. The carrier also expects to have roughly 100 fewer aircraft after the crisis. 

22,000 Jobs Cut, 100 Fewer Planes 

Lufthansa Group has more than 135,000 employees worldwide, with roughly half of them being in Germany. The airline said that half of the job cuts would be in Germany, as it prepares to agree with the measures of unions by 22 June, hoping to minimize redundancies. 

“The aim is to pave the way for the preservation of as many jobs as possible in the Lufthansa Group,” Lufthansa Spokeperson

The airline’s labor director Michael Niggemann said that without a “significant reduction in personnel costs during the crisis,” the company would miss its chance of a “better restart,” and would emerge from the pandemic “significantly weakened.” 

Lufthansa and the German government agreed on a rescue deal worth €9bn to save it from collapse. The way the deal works is the German government will be taking a 20% stake in the firm, which is to be sold until the end of 2023, although the deal is still waiting to be approved by shareholders and the European Commission. 

Lufthansa also closed its budget airline Germanwings one month prior, in April. Other airlines are looking towards taking similar measures as all are in agreement that the return to former levels of demand will be long and slow.