Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – German airline group Lufthansa said Monday it will cut 4,000 jobs, nearly four percent of its workforce — a move underscoring the slump gripping Europe’s largest economy. Lufthansa said the majority of the job cuts would be in Germany and take place by 2030, targeting administrative rather than operational positions.
The group, which employs around 103,000 people, includes Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines, as well as the recently acquired Italian flagship airline ITA Airways. Germany is facing a second straight year of recession, with unemployment at a decade high. The downturn has hit some of the country’s corporate giants hard, squeezed by Chinese competition, high energy costs and slow adoption of new technologies.
Lufthansa’s announcement comes just days after another major German company, industrial giant Bosch, said it would cut 13,000 jobs, or three percent of its global workforce. “The Lufthansa Group is reviewing which activities will no longer be necessary in the future, for example due to duplication of work,” the company said in a statement.
“In particular, the profound changes brought about by digitalization and the increased use of artificial intelligence will lead to greater efficiency in many areas and processes,” it said. Lufthansa set new financial targets for 2028-2030, including an adjusted operating margin of eight to 10 percent.
© 2024 AFP
