Lufthansa To Lay Off Quarter Of Its Executives

**Shareholders back €9bn government bailout

Germany’s Lufthansa will reduce the number of executive positions at the company by 20% and cut 1,000 administrative jobs, according to its latest restructuring measures. 

The airline group has also halved its investment budget for new aircraft so that it can now accept a maximum of 80 new aircraft by 2023.

Lufthansa has already retired 22 aircraft including six Airbus A380s, eleven Airbus A320s and five Boeing 747-400s as the airline desperately attempts to save cash amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In its first set of restructuring measures, revealed in early April, Lufthansa decided, among job cuts, to reduce its fleet by 100 aircraft and cease operating its Germanwings arm.

The airline’s shareholders backed a €9bn government bailout last month to save it from collapse.

But the repayment of government loans and deposits, including interest payments, will weigh heavily on the company in the coming years, Lufthansa said in a company statement.

Lufthansa’s restructuring programme will run until 2023 and will attempt to avoid forced lay-offs where possible, the company said. The group currently has a personnel surplus of 22,000 full-time positions.

Wole Shadare