Aer Lingus to cut 230 cabin crew jobs

As part of a bid to save €97m in costs, Aer Lingus has announced it will make compulsory redundancies among cabin crew.

"It is expected there will be approximately 230 less Cabin Crew in the organisation and all remaining Cabin Crew employees will be on new contracts of employment," said the Irish carrier.

Under the plans, remaining cabin crew will see a transition to a new pay scale, including reduced salaries. There will also be "new working conditions to achieve increased productivity," said Aer Lingus.

Five union groups were balloted on Aer Lingus' cost reduction programme, four of which agreed to the proposals, but cabin crew members of the union IMPACT rejected the plan.

Despite this, Aer Lingus held a board meeting yesterday, at which bosses "formally approved the steps that will be taken by the Company to achieve the required savings under its cost reduction programme".

A 30 day consultation period will follow, as required by law. Aer Lingus also has to notify the Irish Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment of the decision.

For pilots, Aer Lingus' planned cost reductions will mean a 15% pay cut, and the number of pilots at the airline may be reduced by 15%.

Aer Lingus announced an operating loss of €81m for 2009, while ticket prices fell 16.8% compared to 2008.

www.aerlingus.com