Airline job cuts crucial, warns Brennan

THE workforce at Aer Lingus will need to be slashed by a quarter regardless of who owns the airline, it was claimed yesterday.

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan said huge progress had been made on the company’s survival plan but tough action was required if it was to compete on the global market.

Mr Brennan said management was focused on reviving the national carrier and that job cuts were not a question of ownership.

“Everyone realises that the situation is volatile. There’s no point on going soft on it and standing back and assuming that your competition will do the same,” Mr Brennan said. Whoever owned Aer Lingus needed to find and continue to seek efficiencies, he said. “The issue is simple - it is nothing to do with ownership,” Mr Brennan said.

Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh also proposed a management buyout of the State airline, but no decision is due before September. Workers at the airline voted nine to one in favour of strike action yesterday over management plans to slash the workforce by more than 1,300.

It is believed a radical three year restructuring plan aims to move the State airline to a no frills, low-cost carrier, axing 1,325 staff.

The minister added tough action to cut costs was needed as the board and management felt that further savings were required.

“It is imperative that the airline is in good shape and it’s worth remembering that Aer Lingus have reduced their workforce by around 2,000 over the last two years,” Mr Brennan said.

SIPTU officials have called for one of the largest ever pay outs for any workers hit with redundancy - nine week’s wages for every year served.

It was also reported that unions would push for a pay rise of around 10% for staff who stayed on at the company.

Aer Lingus has additionally been attacked for cutting internal flights between Cork and Dublin and ending air freight services from the south-west.

Dan Boyle, Green Party spokesman, said the cancellation of freight services from Cork airport highlighted the company’s contempt for the region.

“This type of thinking proves that the current management of Aer Lingus, its wannabe owners, have no real intentions of running a national airline,” Mr Boyle said.

“This proposal, coupled with the decision earlier this year to pull its Cork-Dublin service, merely underlines the contempt that Aer Lingus management seem to carry towards Cork.”