Singapore Airlines announces massive job cuts
Singapore’s national carrier Singapore Airlines announced on September 10 that it would cut at least 4,300 jobs, or around 20 per cent of its staff, at home and overseas due to the devastating impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the international travel industry and also because it has no domestic traffic to compensate for the slump in demand.
The layoff progamme, which includes the airline group‘s budget brands SilkAir and Scoot, is the largest in the airline’s history. The number of direct terminations would be 2,400, while the rest will leave the company through measures such as an early retirement scheme for ground staff and pilots, as well as a voluntary release scheme for cabin crew. The airlines also implemented a recruitment freeze in March.
In a media release, Singapore Airlines said the decision was taken in light of the “long road to recovery for the global airline industry due to the debilitating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” adding that there was “an urgent need to adapt to an uncertain future.”
Running at eight per cent of capacity for months is not sustainable
The carrier said that that it expected to operate less than 50 per cent of its normal capacity by its financial year that ends on March 31, 2021. Currently, it is operating at eight per cent.
“When the battle against Covid-19 began early this year, none of us could have predicted its devastating impact on the global aviation industry,” said Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong.
“From the outset, our priorities were to ensure our survival and save as many jobs as possible. Given that the road to recovery will be long and fraught with uncertainty, we have to unfortunately implement involuntary staff reduction measures as a result of an unprecedented global crisis that has engulfed the airline industry,” he added.
The overall outlook for international air travel remains bleak as no one knows how long borders of many countries will remain shut, given second and third waves of virus infections. Industry groups like the International Air Transport Association have also forecast that passenger traffic will not return to previous levels until at least 2024.
Singapore Airlines, one of the world's most lauded carriers, is in dire straits due to the Covid-19 crisis Singapore’s national carrier Singapore Airlines announced on September 10 that it would cut at least 4,300 jobs, or around 20 per cent of its staff, at home and overseas due to the devastating impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the international travel industry and also because it has no domestic traffic to compensate for the slump in demand. The layoff progamme, which includes the airline group‘s budget brands SilkAir and Scoot, is the largest in the airline’s history. The number of direct...
Singapore’s national carrier Singapore Airlines announced on September 10 that it would cut at least 4,300 jobs, or around 20 per cent of its staff, at home and overseas due to the devastating impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the international travel industry and also because it has no domestic traffic to compensate for the slump in demand.
The layoff progamme, which includes the airline group‘s budget brands SilkAir and Scoot, is the largest in the airline’s history. The number of direct terminations would be 2,400, while the rest will leave the company through measures such as an early retirement scheme for ground staff and pilots, as well as a voluntary release scheme for cabin crew. The airlines also implemented a recruitment freeze in March.
In a media release, Singapore Airlines said the decision was taken in light of the “long road to recovery for the global airline industry due to the debilitating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” adding that there was “an urgent need to adapt to an uncertain future.”
Running at eight per cent of capacity for months is not sustainable
The carrier said that that it expected to operate less than 50 per cent of its normal capacity by its financial year that ends on March 31, 2021. Currently, it is operating at eight per cent.
“When the battle against Covid-19 began early this year, none of us could have predicted its devastating impact on the global aviation industry,” said Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong.
“From the outset, our priorities were to ensure our survival and save as many jobs as possible. Given that the road to recovery will be long and fraught with uncertainty, we have to unfortunately implement involuntary staff reduction measures as a result of an unprecedented global crisis that has engulfed the airline industry,” he added.
The overall outlook for international air travel remains bleak as no one knows how long borders of many countries will remain shut, given second and third waves of virus infections. Industry groups like the International Air Transport Association have also forecast that passenger traffic will not return to previous levels until at least 2024.
