1,250 redundancy applications for Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus claim that more than 1,250 applications have been received from workers offering to avail of a voluntary redundancy deal giving nine weeks' pay per year of service.

Staff at the airline have until 5pm today to register their application for the deal.

Management had said it requires 1,325 lay-offs to implement its next overhaul of the company, moving it closer to the no-frills low-cost business model.

However, SIPTU spokesman Padraig Yeates says workers shouldn't feel pressurised into making a final decision and should await the outcome of the current talks.