Because of the Corona crisis, Lufthansa wants to downsize its fleet and cut 600 pilot positions. But it quickly turns out that the measures are not enough. The corporate management is therefore using the red pencil again.
As part of its tightened shrinking course, Deutsche Lufthansa wants to cut hundreds more pilot positions at its core airline than initially announced. "Against the background of the adjusted fleet planning, the surplus staff for the cockpit area of Lufthansa Airlines will amount to at least 1,100 positions from 2022," said a group spokesman. In June, the airline had put the planned reduction in pilot positions at 600.
"Talks with the cockpit staff representatives have already been resumed," said the spokesman. "The aim of the negotiations is to find a solution that is as socially acceptable as possible for the job cuts that are now necessary."
Due to the Corona crisis, Lufthansa announced that it would reduce its fleet by 100 aircraft and cut 22,000 full-time jobs. At the beginning of the week, the airline announced that it would permanently shut down another 50 aircraft. As a result, in addition to the 22,000 already mentioned, another 5,000 jobs could be lost. The decision also increased the number of redundant pilots. The parent company Lufthansa currently has around 5,000 pilots in service.
UFO accuses Lufthansa of "breaking its word"
In view of the increasing downsizing, the cabin union Ufo canceled a "strategic dialogue" with the company and the other two collective bargaining partners Verdi and Vereinigung Cockpit on Monday. UFO boss Daniel Flohr explained that one felt as a fig leaf of an allegedly functioning social partnership.
Under the pressure of the Corona crisis, the flight attendants were the only professional group to date to conclude a long-term restructuring collective agreement with the airline in June, but have not made any progress since then with the specific implementation. "There is no willingness to develop joint strategies. Breaking words against Germanwings and SunExpress with tough job cuts are an expression of the opposite of a responsible and cooperative approach," Flohr accused the Lufthansa management.
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