Lufthansa
Lufthansa expects to cut as many as 26,000 jobs. Credit: Michael Rehfeldt.

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German carrier Lufthansa has reportedly warned that as many as 26,000 jobs may be cut amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The announcement follows even after the carrier received a €9bn bailout from the German Government on 25 May. The airline is currently undergoing a restructuring process.

The pandemic has severely impacted the passenger air travel demand worldwide.

Several airlines have resorted to implementing measures to reduce expenditures to deal with the crisis.

Lufthansa initially planned 10,000 redundancies due to restructuring, but the figure now stands to be ‘significantly more’ than the original estimate, Reuters reported citing the company.

The news agency also reported that the carrier is pursuing an agreement with labour unions for part-time opportunities and other means to reduce personnel costs.

The airline expects an agreement to be in place before a general meeting, which is scheduled to happen on 25 June.

Shareholders will vote on the bailout during the meeting.

Besides, flight attendants’ union UFO is also working to strike a deal with Lufthansa on forced job cuts.

Last month, Lufthansa reportedly planned to continue grounding 300 aircraft until next year, while another 200 aircraft will be affected until 2022.

In April, Lufthansa Group decided to permanently phased-out six Airbus A380s, seven A340-600s and 11 Airbus A320s, as well as five Boeing 747-400s.