Alitalia to cut 1,400 jobs

Italian carrier Alitalia is considering cutting as many as 1,400 jobs by the end of the year and may not renew the contracts of 600 temporary staff, Italian media reported on Sunday.

The head of the airline, Rocco Sabelli, hinted at a reduction of 1,200 to 1,400 positions on September 2 during a meeting with staff, in which he discussed “outsourcing and improvements in efficiency” under a restructuring plan, Corriere della Sera reported.

The ongoing restructuring plan calls for Alitalia to reduce staff numbers to 12,600, a reduction of 1,400 from the current level.

Sabelli also discussed plans to save 108 million euros (141 million dollars) in the second half of the year by selling off maintenance services and equipment, the newspaper reported citing a dossier presented by Sabelli.

After risking bankruptcy, Alitalia was taken over in 2009 by a group of prominent Italian business leaders and merged with Italy’s number two carrier Air One, as Air France-KLM acquired 25 percent of the company.

The restructured carrier has already laid off 3,000 people, despite a series of strikes by staff that forced cancellations.

Alitalia said in July it had almost halved its net loss in the first half of 2010 to 164 million euros from 324 million euros last year.
Source: AFP