Lufthansa seeking cuts equivalent to 22,000 positions

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Lufthansa said on Monday it was seeking to strike agreements with worker representatives by June 22 on how to make cuts equivalent to 22,000 full-time positions.

The airline’s flight operations will be affected with a calculated 5,000 jobs, 600 of which will be pilots, 2,600 flight attendants and 1,500 ground staff, Lufthansa said in a statement.

A further 1,400 jobs at headquarters and in administration at other Group companies will also be affected. Lufthansa Technik has a worldwide surplus of about 4,500 jobs, 2,500 of them in Germany and in the LSG Group’s catering business 8,300 jobs are affected worldwide.

“We want to keep as many colleagues on board as possible throughout the crisis and avoid layoffs,” Lufthansa said.

Staff overcapacity can be partially compensated for by short-time working, collective agreements to reduce weekly working hours or other cost-cutting measures.

The necessary crisis agreements are to be concluded by June 22, the company said.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Joseph Nasr)