Unions vow to fight latest Aer Lingus cuts
Unions are vowing to fight proposals from Aer Lingus to cut hundreds of jobs and slash wages.
The airline has announced that it wants to shed 676 staff by 2011 in a bid to save €97m per year.
It also wants to cut wages and end the current defined-benefit pension scheme.
The airline plans to begin negotiations with unions about the cuts, but IMPACT spokesperson Christine Carney said this morning that the employees had already delivered major savings in recent years.
She says the airline's financial problems are due to overspending on hedging costs and are not related to the productivity or wages of employees.
However the umbrella body for Irish chambers of commerce said that the airline had no choice but to reduce costs by any means if it was to survive.
Chambers Ireland said the airline was in a race against time to get its cost base under control.
“The company now faces very significant challenges to assure its viability," said spokesperson Sean Murphy.
"All parties must accept this reality and work together to address these issues if Aer Lingus is to continue as a viable independent airline."
