Coronavirus: Ryanair to cut 3,000 jobs

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The Irish low-cost carrier announced on Friday May 1 that it could cut up to 3,000 jobs due to the paralysis of air transport in the midst of a pandemic.

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After British Airways, which announced this week the loss of more than a quarter of its workforce, or 12,000 jobs, it is Ryanair who is taking action in the face of the stopping of air traffic and the crisis that is hitting the sector. .

The Irish low-cost carrier, which employs 19,000 people, says it will cut up to 3,000 jobs, mostly among pilots and aircrew. In a press release, the group specifies that it will take two years for a return to normal in terms of flights. In the meantime, until at least July, almost all of his devices will be grounded.

No return to normal expected before two years

Consultations must be initiated with unions. The restructuring plan will concern all of the group's brands, including Ryanair, but also the Austrian Lauda, ​​the Maltese Malta Air and the Polish Buzz.

►Also read: Airbus and Boeing in the turmoil of the coronavirus

Ryanair will operate only 1% of its flights in April, May and June, or 150,000 passengers over the period, compared to 42.4 million in normal times. And for this summer, it plans to transport only half of the 44.6 million passages expected.

The airline expects a net loss of 100 million euros for the first quarter (April to June) and should be further in the red in the second quarter.

The minimum to "  survive the next twelve months  "

The group's general manager, Michael O'Leary, had already cut his salary by 50% for April and May, and will now extend this measure for the rest of the annual financial year, i.e. until March 2021.

The job cuts are "  the minimum we need to survive the next twelve months,  " he said on the BBC. If the pandemic were to last, "  we may have to announce more cuts in the future,  " he warned.

The company will also seriously reduce the airfoil regarding its projects, and in particular its aircraft orders.

►Also listen: Aviation: even nailed to the ground because of the Covid-19, planes need maintenance

(with agencies)

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• Aeronautics
• Transport
• Ireland
• Coronavirus
• Economic crisis

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