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UK budget airline EasyJet is planning to cut up to 4,500 jobs and reduce its capacity. The company is looking to rebuild and improve productivity after the coronavirus pandemic forced it to ground almost its entire fleet two months ago.
The budget carrier will begin an employee consultation process on its proposals to reduce staff numbers by up to 30 per cent, it said. This would put a maximum of 4,500 jobs at stake out of the airline’s total 15,000 staff.
The company said it expects to fly about 30 per cent of the planned capacity in the fourth quarter. By the end of its financial year in 2021 the size of its fleet will be at about 302 aircraft, 51 lower than what was anticipated before the pandemic hit.
EasyJet plans to restart a number of flights on June 15, beginning with domestic routes in the UK and France. More routes will be added as demand increases and lockdown measures across Europe are eased.
The low-cost carrier is in the middle of a dispute with its founder and biggest shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou over a multibillion-pound order for 107 Airbus aircraft.
The airline held a general meeting last week in response to Haji-Ioannou’s call to remove four directors, with about 58 per cent of shareholders voting against each resolution.
EasyJet also said it is not planning on raising new equity currently but its chief executive did not rule it out in future.
“There’s no plans on raising any equity today but that is something that we will continue to look into as a whole range of additional things that we are considering,” CEO Johan Lundgren stated.
