Hit by deteriorating market conditions, SriLankan Airlines is seeking to reduce the size of its workforce by 10%. The carrier, formerly Air Lanka, has relaunched a voluntary retirement programme which it hopes will allow it to cut the 5,000-strong workforce by 500.
The moves comes as trading conditions have worsened over the past two years, in part as a result of higher costs as well as political and security problems in Sri Lanka, which have made the country a less attractive tourist destination.
SriLankan last offered voluntary retirement to employees in 1999 in a move to reduce staff numbers by up to 20%. The programme has met with limited success.
The carrier is 40%-owned by Dubai-based Emirates, which bought into it in 1998 and took a 10-year management contract. The airline has since completed a fleet revamp and has built up its route network.
Source: Airline Business
