Lufthansa to Scrap 3,500 Administrative Jobs as Losses Widen

Deutsche Lufthansa AG will scrap 3,500 administrative positions, or about 20 percent of the clerical total, as the German airline seeks to improve profitability with a 1.5 billion-euro ($2 billion) cost-reduction program.

The job cuts, 2,500 of them in Germany, will help deliver one-third of the savings Lufthansa is seeking through 2014, the Cologne-based carrier said today. A global purchasing project will also shave 200 million euros from expenses this year, and “traffic optimization” should recoup at least 10 million euros.