Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will cut 4,000 of its 22,000 staff as part of a restructuring effort aimed at saving SKr6-8 billion ($700-930 million) within 18 months. The carrier plans to simplify its operations by redistributing its fleet around its three hubs: Copenhagen, Oslo Gardermoen and Stockholm Arlanda to minimise the number of different types at each hub.
The news follows new work agreements with almost all the SAS employee unions. Of the major unions, only the cabin crew have so far not signed a deal. Meanwhile, Qantas has announced a further 1,000 redundancies, blaming the fall in traffic from the war in Iraq and the SARS outbreak.
Source: Flight International
