Aer Lingus redundancies

The Dublin Head Office of Aer Lingus has announced large significant staff lay-offs.

The airline, part of the International Airlines Group (IAG), has warned its employees that it will unilaterally conduct layoffs, reduce salaries, and slash hours once the Irish Government's Temporary Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme expires on 21 June, the Irish public service trade union Fórsa told the national broadcaster RTÉ.

Numbers were not specified, but Aer Lingus had already told unions it expects its 4,500-strong workforce next year to be about 20% smaller than in 2019, which has led to the assumption that the company wants about 900 redundancies.

Fórsa has criticised the decision as premature, as a month remains to explore various options. However, so far negotiations on the restructuring between unions and management have yet to yield much agreement. Until now, the airline has committed to paying employees 50% of their salaries until 21 June, funded in part by the subsidy scheme.

Chief Executive, Sean Doyle, told staff by video message that the pandemic's impact on its business had been "crippling". Passenger numbers had fallen to under 1,000 daily from nearly 20,000 on a busy Friday. Sister company British Airways is talking about 12,000 redundancies with news sparse regarding union discussions.

www.btnews.co.uk

www.aerlingus.com

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