Lufthansa puts 87,000 workers on reduced hours

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Lufthansa puts 87,000 workers on reduced hours

AFP

The 87,000 affected workers represent more than 60% of Lufthansa's workforce

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany – European airline giant Lufthansa said on Thursday, April 2, it has placed 87,000 workers – more than 60% of its workforce – on government-backed shorter hours schemes, as air travel idles amid the coronavirus crisis.

Among the group’s 135,000 employees, cabin crew, ground crew, and for the first time ever pilots are all affected by the measure, a spokesman told Agence France-Presse.

Some 62,000 of the employees affected are in Germany, doubling the number given on Friday, March 27, of those who would work shorter hours until September.

In addition to the flagship German brand Lufthansa and low-cost arm Eurowings, the group includes smaller carriers such as Austrian, Brussels Airlines, and Swiss.

Around 700 of Lufthansa’s 763 aircraft are parked following huge reductions in its flight operations, and its seat capacity is just 5% of its usual schedule.

Also on Thursday, the group said the cutoff date for the unprecedented reductions in its flight plan would be extended from April 19 to at least May 3.

Chief executive Carsten Spohr last month warned that “the longer this crisis lasts, the more likely it is that the future of aviation cannot be guaranteed without state aid.”

The group’s flight plan has been slashed to levels not seen since the 1950s, Spohr said.

Around the world, the International Air Transport Association has said up to $200 billion might be needed to rescue airlines.

Known in German as “Kurzarbeit,” under the program people placed on shorter hours have their pay topped off from government coffers.

The scheme is widely credited with preserving thousands of jobs during the financial crisis in the late 2000s, and other countries like Britain and France have adopted similar measures in the coronavirus fight.

Berlin extended access to the scheme as the virus hit Europe’s top economy, allowing companies to apply for support when a threshold of 10% of workers is affected, rather than 33% previously. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!