Germany’s Lufthansa to slash 4,000 jobs

Lufthansa said Monday it will cut 4,000 jobs, nearly four percent of the German airline giant’s workforce, after profits slumped in the face of mounting headwinds.

Hit by walkouts, aircraft delivery delays and rising costs, Lufthansa’s earnings tumbled by a fifth in 2024 and profitability has fallen behind its leading European rivals.

The news comes against a bleak backdrop for Europe’s biggest economy, which is struggling to recover from a long downturn that is weighing on many of Germany’s leading companies.

The job cuts, to be carried out by 2030, will mostly be in Germany, targeting administrative roles rather than jobs such as pilots and cabin crew.

Lufthansa -- which operates Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines and has acquired a stake in Italy’s ITA -- said it was targeting savings of some 300 million euros ($350 million) between 2028 and 2030.

The group is aiming to increase cooperation among different parts of the sprawling group.

“In particular, the profound changes brought about by digitalisation and the increased use of artificial intelligence will lead to greater efficiency in many areas and processes,” it said.

The group employs around 103,000 people.

Trade union Verdi, which represents Lufthansa office staff, vowed to fight the “drastic cuts”.

It blamed in particular rising costs facing the aviation sector, from airport charges to new environmental rules.

Agence France-Presse