In another wave of employment cuts this week, Emirates got rid of more pilots and cabin personnel as the Gulf carrier reduces its headcount due to the persistent ills of the global health crisis, four sources disclosed.
The government-owned Dubai airline is slashing thousands of jobs, including pilots and cabin crew as it faces a pandemic-triggered financial strain, sources have reported.
A company spokesperson on Thursday did not reveal how many staff was made redundant in the job cuts this week or from which divisions. The workforce of 4,300 pilots and close to 22,000 cabin crew could be narrowed down from their pre-coronavirus figures, by nearly one-third, sources told Reuters.
The Gulf carrier has given the dreaded pink slip to a big number of pilots under a fresh move to downsize its regional operations, sources told CNBC-TV18. It is learned that Emirates has terminated around 700 to 800 pilots under the newest series of retrenchments, Anu Sharma of CNBC-TV18 wrote in her story.
Emirates has confirmed the latest job cuts, without confirming the actual number, and has blamed the pandemic for being forced to take such a difficult decision as the airline operates a significantly reduced fleet despite a resumption of flights.
According to the Emirates spokesperson, like other airlines and travel groups, the coronavirus pandemic "has hit us hard, and as a responsible business, we must right-size our workforce in connection with our reduced operational requirements," Issac John of Khaleej Times, quoted the spokesperson as saying in his report.
The report added that Emirates' employees have always been a major contributing factor to the airlines' success through the years, "so this is not an action that we relish, nor one that we take lightly."
In early June, Emirates started letting go of its workers across all departments and positions -- from management to pilots, to flight attendants, to ground personnel.
The Gulf airline's approach to mass retrenchments left a big chunk of its staff incredibly disappointed. Emirates sent out memos and emails to select personnel every evening and informed them that they would need to be present at the carrier's training facility the following day for a business update meeting. At the meeting, they informed the staff that their positions were being made redundant.
The aviation industry has been badly impacted by the fallout from the pandemic, with most airlines around the world forced to lay off workers and seek government financial support in hopes of evading bankruptcy or making a bit of a turnaround.
