Lufthansa plans to cut 10,000 more jobs in Germany

BERLIN

Germany’s flag carrier airline Lufthansa said Thursday it plans to slash 10,000 more jobs in the country as part of its cost-cutting measures amid the protracted travel slump due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite a major downsizing in its workforce already, Lufthansa plans to cut around 10,000 full-time positions in Germany or lower personnel costs to a comparable extent.

The group wants to achieve this through voluntary redundancies or part-time work solutions, Lufthansa Chief Financial Officer Remco Steenbergen said while presenting the quarterly figures.

He referred to ongoing negotiations with the pilot union and the ground crew on the new regulations that are supposed to kick in next year.

However, Steenbergen also said: "We are preparing for layoffs."

These measures could be implemented at the beginning of next year, he added.

Lufthansa had already cut around 24,000 full-time positions worldwide, which corresponds to around 25,700 employees.

The majority was accounted for by the catering subsidiary LSG, whose European business was sold to the Gategroup.

In Germany, the number of full-time positions dropped by 8,000 to 52,200, mostly as a result of fluctuations.

Outside of Germany, around 16,000 jobs were slashed in the same period.

Around 110,000 people are still currently being employed by Lufthansa worldwide.

Lufthansa has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, forcing it last year to seek a €9 billion bailout from the German government.