European Carriers Announce Plans to Cut Thousands of Jobs by 2015

Air Berlin, Alitalia, Air France-KLM and Monarch Airlines are facing massive layoffs in order to stay profitable in the air.

Four European carriers are planning a round of layoffs before the end of the year in order to get back on track in the 2015. Multiple sources report Air Berlin, Alitalia, Air France-KLM and Monarch Airlines are facing significant staff reductions as part of a larger pathway to profitability.

Reuters reports that Air Berlin will soon make its second round of job cuts this year, focusing around the attrition of ground crews and administrative workers. An unnamed representative for the German airline said the 200 layoffs are part of the carrier’s plan to return to profitability. Air Berlin previously cut 10 percent of its workforce earlier this year, and the new cuts increase the carrier’s total number of layoffs to around 1,100 in 2014 alone.

Italian flag carrier Alitalia is reportedly planning to make a similar number of job cuts in a single move. According to Italian news agency Adnkronos, as reported by TravelWeekly, Alitalia management and employee unions have agreed to cut as many as 1,000 jobs. The signed plan calls for the dismissal of 879 ground crew employees, 61 pilots and 54 flight attendants, all of whom would receive letters of notice from the end of October. Alitalia laid off around 700 employees earlier this year, meaning that if the newly proposed cuts are implemented, the carrier will reduce its workforce by as many as 1,700 people before 2015.

Etihad Airways owns a stake in both Alitalia and Air Berlin. Officials at Etihad provided no comment about the job cuts.

The biggest cuts, however, could come from the Dutch half of Air France-KLM. According to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, as reported by Reuters, KLM is expected to announce the elimination of 7,500 jobs with its third quarter earnings report. The anticipated layoffs represent approximately 25 percent of the airline’s workforce. The goal of the measure is to reduce the company’s debt by $5.6 billion by reducing costs in the wake of Air France’s pilots strikes, which lasted for two weeks in September and cost the carrier an estimated $632 million. KLM has since denied the claims, insisting that the media is spreading “false information based on false figures,” according to The Economic Times.

Monarch Airlines is also facing a massive overhaul after accepting an ownership change as part of a rescue package, BBC reports. As a result of a buyout from Greybull Capital, the British airline will reduce employee pay by up to 30 percent and cut 700 employees deemed to be redundant. According to the report, more than 90 percent of Monarch’s unionized staff voted to accept the pay reduction and two-thirds of the redundancies will be voluntary. The carrier will also be reducing its fleet from 42 aircraft to 32 as part of the overhaul, with long-haul and charter flights scheduled to end by April 2015.

[Photo: KLM]