Coronavirus: EasyJet to cut up to 4,500 jobs over COVID-19 crisis | Business News

EasyJet is looking to cut up to 4,500 and shrink its fleet, following the collapse in air travel due to coronavirus.

The move represents nearly a third – 30% – of the Luton-based airline’s workforce.

Other carriers, including British Airways and Ryanair, have already announced major job losses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has devastated the aviation industry globally.

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren, said: “We realise that these are very difficult times and we are having to consider very difficult decisions which will impact our people, but we want to protect as many jobs as we can for the long-term.

“We remain focused on doing what is right for the company and its long-term health and success, following the swift action we have taken over the last three months to meet the challenges of the virus.

“Although we will restart flying on 15 June, we expect demand to build slowly, only returning to 2019 levels in about three years’ time.

“Against this backdrop, we are planning to reduce the size of our fleet and to optimise the network and our bases.

“As a result, we anticipate reducing staff numbers by up to 30% across the business and we will continue to remove cost and non-critical expenditure at every level.

“We will be launching an employee consultation over the coming days.

“We want to ensure that we emerge from the pandemic an even more competitive business than before, so that easyJet can thrive in the future.”