So far, Lufthansa has already reduced 20% of its top management positions. Cutting jobs allowed Lufthansa to reduce costs by about €900 million.
The largest German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Xetra: LHA) may cut as many as 29,000 jobs by the end of this year. Besides, the company is planning to sell its LSG unit that employs about 7,500 people. According to the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag the decision results from the negative effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on Lufthansa’s business.
Lufthansa will keep 109,000 workers in its workforce. However, at the beginning of 2021, Lufthansa will cut another 10,000 jobs in Germany and 20,000 abroad.
Lufthansa Group includes Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings. All the subsidiaries mentioned suffered as a result of the pandemic. The number of flights fell, which resulted in huge losses for Lufthansa Group.
Back in October, the company wrote in a letter to its employees:
“No one can reliably predict these effects. We are determined nevertheless to preserve at least 100,000 of the Lufthansa Group’s 130,000 current jobs. Even if we do not currently have nearly enough work for a workforce of this size. After a summer that gave us all reason for hope, we are now once again in a situation that is tantamount to a lockdown in effect.”
So far, Lufthansa has already reduced 20% of its top management positions. Cutting jobs allowed Lufthansa to reduce costs by about €900 million. But as analysts are predicting, it will take several years for the company to fully recover.
Strong Demand for New Year Travel
At the beginning of November, Germany went into a partial lockdown. However, this did not affect the bookings for New Year’s travels. Last week, Lufthansa reported a 400% growth of flight reservations for international destinations. Among them are South Africa (Cape Town, Johannesburg), Namibia (Windhoek), the Canary Islands, Madeira, and sunny destinations in the Mediterranean. Ski resorts in Northern Finland are popular as well.
Lufthansa executive Harry Hohmeister stated:
“The longing to travel is great worldwide. As soon as travel restrictions fall, we see a significant increase in bookings. This is especially true for the vacation season around Christmas and New Year.”
In the nearest future, Lufthansa is planning to return to its normal schedule and get back to all the destinations it offered before. Starting December 19, it will offer non-stop flights from Frankfurt to the islands of La Palma and Fuerteventura. Currently, flights from Frankfurt to Majorca, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Madeira, Malta, Larnaca/Cyprus, and Faro/Algarve are available. From Munich, passengers also can get to Paris, Madrid, Helsinki, Athens, Rome, Oslo, Warsaw, and Lisbon.
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