Aer Lingus to cut 105 more jobs

AER LINGUS is to axe 105 more jobs at Shannon Airport as part of the airline's restructuring programme, it emerged yesterday.

The troubled national airline, which has already shed more than 200 jobs in the past few months, told trade union IMPACT it wanted 50 staff to take voluntary redundancies and a further 55 cabin crew to take unpaid leave for the winter months.

IMPACT fears that those workers let go during the winter season will not be returned and last night sought an urgent meeting with Transport Minister Seamus Brennan.

“We are very concerned for our members at Shannon,” an IMPACT spokesperson said.

“Many of them have huge financial commitments and there are not many job opportunities for cabin crew right now,” they said.

The union also fears that once the Shannon-New York daily flight is taken off the winter schedule from October 27, it will not be restored for next year’s summer schedule.

Minister Brennan will be told by union officials that the downgrading of Shannon, which has 297 cabin crew based there, has wider implications for jobs all along the western seaboard.

This latest jobs cut in the Shannon region follows Monday’s shock announcement by Flextronics International at Plassey Technological Park in Limerick that up to 250 workers faced redundancy.