Emirates to slash 9,000 jobs due to the pandemic
Emirates, the leading Dubai-based carrier, is set to cut as many as 9,000 jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the crisis, Emirates had 60,000 staff members.
In a conversation with the BBC, Emirates president Tim Clark said the airline had already cut a tenth of its staff but said: “We will probably have to let go of a few more, probably up to 15%.”
The global airline industry has been severely impacted by coronavirus, with activity all but grinding to a halt. Tim told the BBC that the airline was “not as badly off as others”.
But its current situation marks a steep turnaround in the fortunes of the airline, which he said before the pandemic was “heading for one of our best years ever”.
The job cuts sweeping the wider aviation industry are fuelling concern amongst Emirates staff that things might get worse.
At least 700 of the airline’s 4,500 pilots were given redundancy notices this week, which means at least 1,200 have been told their jobs are going since the coronavirus crisis started, BBC said in a report.