COVID-19: KLM to cut additional 1,500 jobs

KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM has announced that it would cut 1,500 additional jobs as part of a restructuring in which it needs to cut emissions by 50% by 2030 as well as prepare for recovering traffic after the coronavirus crisis.

Parent company Air France-KLM on Thursday reported a 1.55 billion euro ($1.8 billion) operating loss for the second quarter, with traffic down 95% from a year earlier.

KLM said the new cuts would mean its workforce, which was 33,000 before the pandemic, would be reduced by 20% in all by 2022. It did not rule out further cuts.

By comparison, Air France SA plans to cut 6,500 jobs, or 16% of its workforce, through 2022..

The Dutch and French Governments have given the two national carriers, which merged in 2004, a combined 10.4 billion euros ($12.4 billion) in bailout money, in a mix of loans and loan guarantees.

While most of KLM’s routes have been restored, it said last week it planned to operate about 13,000 flights in August, still down 60% from the same month a year ago.