Deutsche Lufthansa, Germany’s biggest airline, announced plans to slash 3,500 administrative jobs around the world as it tries to offset soaring fuel costs and fierce competition in Europe to return to profitability.
“We can only safeguard jobs for the long term and create new openings if we reorganise the administrative functions and accept job losses now,” Christoph Franz, chief executive said in a statement on Thursday.
Lufthansa, which has a workforce of about 117,000 people worldwide, fared better in the global economic crisis than peers such as Air France-KLM and British Airways, but CEO Franz said the airline needs to radically cut costs to remain competitive.
He has vowed to improve results by €1.5 billion ($2.0 billion) by the end of 2014 as rocketing jet fuel prices, a weak global economy and competition for passengers with fast-growing low-cost carriers and West Asia airlines squeeze margins.