Aer Lingus unions to fight 1,300 job cut plans

UNIONS at Aer Lingus are set to mount a strong campaign to fight plans to cut the workforce at the airline by almost a third.

Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh will unveil a radical business plan at a board meeting later today that will recommend the axing of 1,300 jobs. If implemented in full, the rationalisation programme would see the current workforce of 4,000 reduced to 2,700 by 2007. Job losses would affect all divisions of the airline and impact on staffing levels at Dublin, Cork and Shannon.

Union sources have warned that they will oppose any attempt to introduce enforced redundancies, especially as the firm is on target for record profits of €95 million in 2004.