One of Europe’s Largest Airlines To Cut Thousands of Jobs

There’s a lot happening in the aviation industry right now.

In the United States, a potential partial government shutdown could affect travel times for many consumers, ransomware attacks have caused lots of delays in Europe, and an investigation is underway as two planes nearly collided upon landing at a European airport. Now, there’s another update from a large airline over in Europe — thousands of employees are about to be laid off in pursuit of efficiency.

According to Reuters, Lufthansa, Europe’s largest airline by sales, is expected to announce several thousand job cuts as it “seeks to reassure investors of its commitment to efficiency.” After the announcement of the cuts, the airline rose 3.4% to its highest level in more than three weeks.

This decision comes after analysts and investors have criticized Lufthansa for its inability to cut costs after it didn’t hit its 8% operating profit margin by 2025. The company promised investors it would turn things around ambitiously, and at a town hall event with staff, Chief Executive Carsten Spohr said, “All this will require us also to become leaner in admin because we cannot afford to maintain our work at the cost that we have now because we don’t have the margins to invest.”

In the coming years, the airline plans to reduce its staff by 20% in the coming years, and while there’s no official number on just how many that would be, it’s certainly significant. The company stated that the turnaround they promised investors is progressing, but labour issues continue to arise, as an ongoing dispute over pensions could still cause a pilot strike.

Be sure to stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest travel news and information about these upcoming cuts. If you’re traveling to Disney World soon, you can count on us to keep you informed!

6 Unspoken Rules for Flying Out of Disney World’s “Other” Airport

What is your preferred airline? Tell us in the comments.