Coronavirus: Emirates plans to cut 30,000 jobs, says Bloomberg

Text by: Philippe Lecaplain

According to financial agency Bloomberg, the airline Emirates plans to cut about 30,000 jobs because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Emirates may be one of the most important in the world for long-haul flights and also one of the most profitable, it is housed in the same boat as all the others because of the coronavirus. The UAE company was forced to suspend scheduled flights in March before resuming limited flights two weeks later.

He must therefore reduce the airfoil as quickly as possible. Instructions have been given to all departments to conduct "  a careful review of costs and resources with regard to financial projections  ". Among other measures, it is planned to cut 30,000 jobs, which would reduce the workforce by 30%. 

The company also plans to withdraw from its fleet the A380 of which it is the main operator with more than a hundred aircraft. His decision would be tantamount to giving the coup de grace to this Airbus plane that other operators have already chosen to put on the sidelines, because its four reactors are much more greedy in kerosene than last generation planes.

► Read also : Coronavirus: the clinical death of the A380

Emirates is therefore studying drastic measures as it announced last week a 32nd consecutive year of net profits, with 288 million dollars, up compared to the previous year. These results are due to the 56.2 million people transported and were stimulated by a 15% drop in fuel costs, which reached $ 7.2 billion, or 31% of operating costs.

Emirates therefore has reserves to face the Covid-19 crisis. But Sheikh Ahmed ben Said Al-Maktoum, president and chief executive officer of the Emirates group, said: "  We anticipate that it will take at least 18 months before travel demand returns to a semblance of normalcy  ."

► Read also: Coronavirus: Air Canada to lay off more than half of its staff

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• Aeronautics
• Transport
• United Arab Emirates
• Coronavirus