SYDNEY: Singapore Airlines Ltd said on Thursday it would cut 4,300 positions, or around 20 per cent of its staff, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The airline said after taking into account a recruitment freeze, natural attrition and voluntary departure schemes, the potential number of staff affected would be reduced to around 2,400 in Singapore and overseas.
The company reiterated its forecast that it expected to operate less than 50 per cent of its normal capacity by its financial year end of 31 March, 2021. It is currently at 8 per cent.
The airline has no domestic network and is wholly dependent on international demand at a time when many borders remain effectively closed.
Smaller fleet
It said to remain viable in an uncertain landscape it would operate a smaller fleet and reduced network in coming years, having already announced a review of its Airbus SE A380 aircraft or a possible $731.21 million in impairments.
“The next few weeks will be some of the toughest in the history of the SIA Group as some of our friends and colleagues leave the company,” Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong said in a statement.
“This is not a reflection of the strengths and capabilities of those who will be affected, but the result of an unprecedented global crisis that has engulfed the airline industry,” he said.