Ryanair cutting jobs amid pilot strike action

Low cost airline Ryanair has warned over job losses for more than 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew as it revealed plans to cut its Dublin-based aircraft fleet by 20%, blaming recent pilot strike action.
Job cuts are a deeply regretted consequence of impact from strike actionJob cuts are a deeply regretted consequence of impact from strike action
Job cuts are a deeply regretted consequence of impact from strike action

The carrier said it had issued 90-day notices to the affected staff and will now begin consultations on redundancy.

It is cutting its Dublin-based fleet from 30 to around 24 for the winter and instead doubling its Polish fleet to more than 10, partly as a result of recent strikes by Irish pilots, which it said had hit bookings and consumer confidence in its Irish services.

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The group will be offering affected employees transfers to Poland to minimise redundancies.

Chief operating officer Peter Bellew said: “We regret these base aircraft reductions at Dublin for winter 2018, but the board has decided to allocate more aircraft to those markets where we are enjoying strong growth (such as Poland).

“This will result in some aircraft reductions and job cuts in country markets where business has weakened, or forward bookings are being damaged by rolling strikes by Irish pilots.

“If our reputation for reliability or forward bookings is affected, then base and potential job cuts such as these at Dublin are a deeply regretted consequence,” he added.

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Ryanair warned earlier this week that jobs could be lost after facing strikes over pay and conditions.

Dozens of Ryanair’s Irish-based pilots staged their third 24-hour strike on Tuesday in an ongoing dispute over working arrangements including annual leave and promotions.

The action led to the cancellation of 16 flights affecting 2,500 customers.

Ryanair, which was forced to recognise unions in December for the first time in its history, said it will decide on redundancies based on its “assessment of flight performance, productivity, attendances, and base transfer requests”.

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