Japan Airlines to cut workforce by a third

A struggling Japanese airline has announced an extensive restructuring programme after filing for bankruptcy earlier this year. Japan Airlines (JAL), which declared itself strapped for cash on January 19, has announced that it intends to cut its workforce by as much as a third.                                                                  

In essence, this will mean the closing of unprofitable routes to both domestic and international destinations as well and the culling of more than 16,000 jobs. JAL says, however, that some of the job cuts will be accounted for with the sale of subsidiaries and early retirement strategies. In addition, the troubled airline plans to cut its fleet by 103 planes in an attempt to downsize and make the business more profitable.

Along with British Airways and American Airlines, JAL is a member of the One World alliance. The Japanese carrier is, however, facing increasing pressure from their rival All Nippon Airways and has been hard hit by the global economic downturn. Like many major airlines, JAL has seen a vast reduction in passenger numbers over the last few years.

In a statement, the airline said that it hopes to become profitable again in the first fiscal year that the measures are introduced, adding that staff numbers would cut from 48,714 to 32,600 by the end of this year.

The plan is part of a government bail-out that was offered after JAL announced debts of $25 billion in January. The bankruptcy was one of Japan’s biggest corporate failures in history.