The board of directors at Aer Lingus today re-affirmed that it is to continue with its €97 million cost reduction plan.
Following a meeting of the board this afternoon, the company said that the operating environment for Aer Lingus and rival airlines, "remains extremely challenging."
Aer Lingus has accepted an invitation from the National Implementation Body to conclude negotiations with unions under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).
Siptu, the State’s largest union; Impact, which represents cabin crews, its pilot branch Ialpa, and Unite, which represents skilled technical workers at Aer Lingus, have all agreed to enter the talks.
The company said today that at the conclusion of these negotiations, which are scheduled to be completed at the end of the month, the Aer Lingus board will meet to review the results of the discussions.
However, it warned that if no agreement had been made with unions over the required €97 million savings, it will proceed with its own plan, which could include compulsory redundancies.
Early last month Aer Lingus confirmed plans to cut 676 jobs as part of a restructuring plan aimed at reducing annual operating costs before the end of 2011.
Aer Lingus said its restructuring plan involves achieving cost savings of €74 million and non-staff cost savings of €23 million. In addition to reducing headcount the airline said it was necessary to "fundamentally change" so-called legacy work practices and would be seeking an average 10 per cent pay cut for staff whose basic pay exceeds €35,000 a year.
It said that a reduced flight schedule and changes to work practices will lead to 489 redundancies in operational and support areas. These cuts are in addition to the departure of 100 staff this year, including 63 temporary cabin crew who were let go last month.
Aer Lingus said it is also seeking to cut a further 187 positions from its back office and headquarters operations, reducing headcount at its head office by 40 per cent by 2011.
