Finnair enforced time off for 700 pilots

märts 16th, 2009 postitaja on Ilona

HELSINKI (AP) – Finnair PLC said Friday it will begin enforced time off for some 700 pilots next month to cut costs.

The plans, part of the company’s ?30 million ($39 million) cost-cutting program, follow earlier announced unpaid time off up to 1,700 cabin stewards and air hostesses in April and May. The staggered layoffs will last at least one week for each pilot, Finnair said.

In September, Finnair employees rejected proposals by the management for voluntary wage cuts to avoid cutting 400 jobs in the airline, which has been struggling with high fuel costs and heavy competition. It then said it was seeking ways to make savings of some ?50 million ($65 million).

Last month, Finnair had warned of imminent cuts as it reported a fourth-quarter net loss of ?44 million ($56 million), down from a net profit of ?27 million a year earlier, despite an increase in passenger traffic. The airline employs 9,600 people.

Finnair, which is 56 percent government-owned, flies to 50 destinations with a fleet of 60 aircraft. Last year, 8.3 million passengers flew the airline.