Lufthansa and British Airways announce massive reduction in workforce

More than 100,000 workers may be furloughed after British Airways and Lufthansa announced plans on Thursday to survive the global travel shutdown.

British Airways said it was in talks with its union to suspend around 32,000 staff, Reuters reported.

It has already cut its pilots’ pay in half, and is now coming to an agreement on suspending about 80% of its cabin and ground crew, engineers and office staff.

Read more: Fragile airline sector struggles to beat coronavirus

Meanwhile, German flag carrier Lufthansa said it has placed 87,000 workers worldwide on shorter hours.

The move, supported by the German government, affects 60% of its workforce. Some 62,000 of the employees affected are in Germany.

Read more: Air traffic takes a nosedive: Eerie silence in the skies

aw/rt (Reuters, AFP)

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