Compulsory job losses if necessary
Aer Lingus has warned staff it will make compulsory redundancies if enough volunteers to leave do not come forward.
The Irish carrier, which is in talks with unions representing staff, said it had to save €97m under its Transformation Plan, including €74m on staff costs and €23m in non-staff out goings.
This could lead to about one fifth of its workers leaving.
Reuters reported that the carrier had told staff: "While the preference will be for such redundancies to be on a voluntary basis, compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out.
"These alternative means will include further reductions in capacity resulting from an uneconomic cost base, which in turn will lead to additional redundancies beyond those included in the plan."
The talks are due to conclude on November 30.
Earlier this month in its results for Q3, it reported a 9.7% fall in revenue.
Aer Lingus said cash flow since the end of December 2008 had fallen 38.8% to €399.9m by the end of September.
This drop was due in part to €107m re-structuring costs and final payment for two new A330 aircraft.
The Transformation Plan was instigated last month after the arrival of its new chief executive Christoph Mueller.