Lufthansa to slash 4 000 jobs as headwinds hit bottomline

LUFTHANSA said yesterday it will cut 4 000 jobs, nearly 4 percent of the German airline giant's workforce, after profits slumped in the face of mounting headwinds.

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Hit by walkouts, aircraft delivery delays and rising costs, Lufthansa’s earnings tumbled by a fifth in 2024 and profitability has fallen behind its leading European rivals.

The news comes against a bleak backdrop for Europe’ biggest economy, which is struggling to recover from a long downturn that is weighing on many of Germany's leading companies.

The job cuts, to be carried out by 2030, will mostly be in Germany, targeting administrative roles rather than jobs such as pilots and cabin crew.

Lufthansa - which operates Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines and has acquired a stake in Italy’s ITA - said it was targeting savings of some €300 million (about R6 billion) between 2028 and 2030.