Berlin: Germany’s number two airline, Air Berlin, said on Tuesday it would slash about 900 jobs or nearly 10 per cent of its workforce in a bid to get back in the black after nearly five years of losses.
The troubled airline unveiled details of what it called its two-year “Turbine” programme extending across all its business divisions and focusing “on its key markets on the basis of a stringent business model”. “’Turbine’ has defined initiatives of around 400 million euros ($535 million) by the end of 2014 to achieve a lastingly competitive result,” the company said in a statement. “The programme covers all areas of operation and relationships with business partners as well. It also involves cutting about 900 jobs in which the possibility of redundancies cannot be excluded.” Air Berlin, which has been in the red since 2008, in October announced the cost-cutting drive without providing details. On Tuesday it said it would also reduce its fleet to 142 from 158 planes.
