Emirates could become the latest airline owner to cut jobs, with up to 30,000 positions at risk, according to reports.
The group is reviewing costs, and now Bloomberg is speculating that up to a third of its over 100,000 staff could go.
An Emirates spokeswoman said that no public announcement has been made yet by the company regarding “redundancies at the airline”, but that the business is conducting a review of “costs and resourcing against business projections”.
“Any such decision will be communicated in an appropriate fashion. Like any responsible business would do, our executive team has directed all departments to conduct a thorough review of costs and resourcing against business projections,” the spokeswoman said.
The airline is also supposedly planning to retire its A380s earlier than previously anticipated in an attempt to ease costs.
The state-owned airline, which suspended regular passenger flights in March due to the virus outbreak that has shattered global travel demand, had said that a recovery in travel was at least 18 months away.
It reported a 21 per cent rise in profit for its financial year ending 31 March, but said the pandemic had hit its fourth-quarter performance.
It said it would tap banks to raise debt in its first quarter to lessen the impact of the virus on cash flows. The state-owned group raised $1.2 billion in new financing in the first quarter and is seeking aid from Dubai.
Airlines across the globe are cutting jobs after being hit with an unprecedented near-total shutdown of travel. The measures taken at Emirates would be the most severe yet in absolute terms since nations locked down travel to curtail the spread of the virus.
British Airways said last month that it would remove some 12,000 people from its payroll, while more than 100,000 workers at the four largest US carriers have taken voluntary leave, reduced hours or early retirement.
PB
says:The impact on Emirates crews will be especially harsh since Emirates recruited abroad, sponsoring the import of cockpit and cabin crew from many countries. By throwing those employees back to their home countries they will find employment difficult, and Emirates is unlikely to offer any compensation should they be terminated, other than an airline ticket back to their home countries.