Trades unions said today (October 7) they planned to fight 1,500 job losses announced by Aer Lingus.
The staff redundancies are part of a €74m package of cuts announced by the Irish carrier.
It said it planned to save €50m in wages by cutting the jobs.
It said it would also cut €14m from its distribution and marketing and save a further €10m by reducing long haul services.
The airline said crew bases at Shannon and London Heathrow would be closed while flights to New York, Boston and San Francisco could be reduced from next summer.
One union, Impact which represents cabin crew, pilots and managers, described the cuts as "severe and draconian."
Union official Christina Carney told the Irish Times: "Not for the first time, Aer Lingus have turned to their workers and asked them to carry the burden.
"This proposal asks too much. To export jobs during a recession is unacceptable and we will fight any attempts to do that.
"That fight begins by talking to the management."
The cuts come after Aer Lingus announced last Friday that it planned "fundamental change" in its cost base.
The airline lost €22m in the first six months of 2008.
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