Deals
Air Berlin Plans 1,200 Job Cuts, Hands 40 Jets to Lufthansa
- Workforce to be reduced by almost 15 percent following split
- Carrier’s core fleet will shrink by half to 75 airliners
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Air Berlin Plc announced the most sweeping job cuts in almost 40 years of flying in a bid to rescue its ailing business, slashing its fleet by half as 40 jets are leased to arch-rival Deutsche Lufthansa AG and 35 others are deposited in a new tourism arm with an uncertain future.
About 1,200 of 8,650 staff may go and the three-way fleet split will leave Air Berlin’s main airline with just 75 planes. The company expects to get a 1.2 billion-euro ($1.35 billion) lifeline from the six-year deal with Lufthansa.