Government approves job cuts
Ireland's transport minister Noel Dempsey has come out in support of Aer Lingus' recently announced €97m cost cutting plans, saying the Irish carrier must cut costs in order to survive.
Mr Dempsey said: "I support the fact that they have to reorganise, they have to change, they have to be able to compete," In an interview with national broadcaster RTÉ.
He said that the airline had no choice but to introduce severe cost cutting measures: "Aer Lingus is faced with a very fundamental question - survival or a continuation for perhaps maybe two years.
"There is little doubt in my mind having seen how the cash has been burned up in Aer Lingus over the last 12 months that unless they get the savings of up to €100m, we will not be talking about an Aer Lingus in a few years time."
Aer Lingus plans to cut pay and shed jobs from both operational and support staff areas, including 40% of its head office workforce.
Changes to other business segments could result in a further 187 job losses saving it a total of €74m by 2011.
The airline said it hoped many of the redundancies would be voluntary but that compulsory job cuts could be necessary if it does not achieve its savings target.
A further €23m in savings will come from non-staff costs including airport charges, distribution, and maintenance and operating costs.
Mr Dempsey also reacted to the SIPTU and UNITE unions, which represent ground staff and technical workers at the company, threatening strike action against the proposed job cuts.
"I would also be very supportive of both sides sitting down, working through those cuts and achieving what they need to achieve," he said.
"It's a huge difficulty for the company and the workforce in the company, but the choice is fairly stark - to carry on with the reforms as outlined or as modified during talks."
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