Aer Lingus is laying off 51 staff in Shannon Airport as part of its plans to withdraw its Heathrow services from the Mid-West hub, it confirmed today.
The airline is seeking the voluntary redundancies among its check-in staff, clerical staff and baggage handlers. It also aims to shed six employees at Heathrow.
It wrote to its employees yesterday to inform them about the lay-offs. Aer Lingus announced in August that it was transferring its Heathrow flight slots from Shannon to a new hub in Belfast.
Clare Fine Gael TD Pat Breen said: "There are strong fears that Aer Lingus will lay off more Shannon staff in the future. He added: "But the decision to end the Heathrow service will have wider repercussions for jobs throughout the Mid West."
"The employees are being offered the same generous terms as a severance deal availed of by staff in the cost cutting plan in 2004," said an Aer Lingus spokesperson. The carrier is trying to achieve cost savings of €20 million across its operations.
Aer Lingus currently employs 398 staff at Shannon, comprising 168 cabin crew, 123 ground operatives, 73 maintenance staff and 34 cargo staff. Mr Breen said he is also worried about Shannon services to and from Dublin and Cork.
He added: "Once again Aer Lingus Shannon staff have been used as a sacrificial lamb for the sake of the company's broader interests. "It has been a monumental disaster for the Fianna Fail Government which has shown a staggering lack of common sense in dealing with the issue."
The TD repeated calls for Transport Minster Noel Dempsey to convene an extraordinary general meeting in an effort to overturn the Shannon pull-out.