Aer Lingus in further job cuts warning
Aer Lingus tonight warned further job cuts could be in store if workers do not accept its €97m cost-cutting plan.
More than 670 employees face the axe as management aims to restructure the troubled airline.
But the former State carrier warned that figure could rise if talks with unions at the Labour Relations Commission fail to bring an agreement.
“In the event that the required €97m savings have not been agreed in full, the board and management will proceed to implement an alternative means of delivering the savings within the same timeframe set out under the plan,” a spokesman said.
“These alternative means will include further reductions in capacity resulting from an uneconomic cost base, which in turn will lead to additional redundancies beyond those included in the plan.
“While the preference will be for such redundancies to be on a voluntary basis, compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out.”
Aer Lingus wants to save almost €100m by 2011 through a range of measures, including cutting 676 jobs from its workforce of 3,900.
Staff earning more than €35,000 a year also face pay cuts in the proposed Transformation Plan.
The airline has agreed to enter talks by the weekend with Siptu, the State’s largest union, Impact, which represents cabin crews, its pilot branch Ialpa, and Unite, which represents skilled technical workers.
The discussions are set to finish on November 30, when Aer Lingus’s board of directors and management will meet to review results.
The carrier declined to reveal how many additional jobs could be at risk but vowed to implement cost cuts as soon as possible.
“If Aer Lingus is to maintain its present scale of operations, it is essential that it urgently achieve the full €97m in savings as outlined in the plan,” the spokesman added.
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