Earlier , Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) had reported crumbling finances and had indicated that, it is reducing up to 1,000 staffs due to pandemic travel slump.
Now, as the company sees a decline of 20% in overall demand in the medium-term future due to “structural” changes in the airtravel domain
As announced on Thursday, around 780 employees that includes pilots, cabin crew, ground crew, and mechanics are part of the layoffs.
Swiss’s fleet of short- and medium-haul aircrafts will be reduced by a count of ten to 59, and long-haul aircrafts will be reduced by five to 26 – that is around a total of 15% reduction of fleet size as compared to 2019.
As a result, short- and medium-haul flights are “likely to be reduced from their 2019 levels, while services may not yet be restored at all on a few direct intercontinental routes”, the airline released in a statement.
“It has grown increasingly clear that our market is undergoing structural change, and that despite the actions which we were swift to take in response , a restructuring of our company now sadly seems unavoidable,” said SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx in a statement.
Vranckx also added, the new measures aim to make savings of some CHF500 million ($550 million), which would allow the company to “repay our bank loans as promptly as possible and to sustainably retain our competitive credentials and regain our ability to invest”.
SWISS's statement highlighted , none of the measures would have an impact on its obligations under the terms of a government-backed financial aid package made just over a year ago, when the country’s airline sector was supported with almost CHF2 billion in liquidity.
