More than half of the 1,200 cabin employees lose their jobs, as well as more ground workers, pilots, technicians, and administrative staff.
SAS chief executive Rickard Gustafson led the company when it managed to steer the company so far away from bankruptcy in the fall of 2012, but says he has never participated in anything like it
–JOHAN NILSSON / TT News Agency
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As a result of the corona crisis, the airline SAS sent cancellation letters to 1593 of their Danish employees.
Of the employees who have received notice of termination, 684 cabin employees, 586 ground workers, 176 pilots, 96 technicians and 51 administrative staff have received notice of termination.
– It’s a sad day in SAS history. Today we have had to say goodbye to a large number of loyal, valued and talented employees. The corona crisis has hit SAS with such force that we are now struggling to survive, writes Danish press chief Sille Beck-Hansen in an email.
Those who have been given notice of cancellation have the option of choosing a leave period of up to 24 months instead, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau.
In Norway, no cabin employees are given notice of dismissal on Monday, Norwegian press contact John Eckhoff said, and continues:
– We have finished staffing among cabin crew a long time ago.
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Must cut 5,000
At the end of April, the airline announced that they must reduce the workforce by 5,000 employees as a permanent solution.
The reduction in staffing is almost half the total number of full-time positions in the Group, which was 10,445 at the end of November.
“This is one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make as a SAS boss and this goes beyond the good employees we have in the company,” an earnest CEO Rickard Gustafson told E24.
Christian Lund, head of SPG, the union of the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian pilots’ associations in SAS told E24 that it was a black day for Scandinavian aviation when the news of the downsizing became known.
In April, they announced that about 1,900 jobs would be cut in Sweden, 1,300 jobs in Norway and 1,700 jobs in Denmark.
Read on E24 + (for subscribers)
Stock comment: Feel free to buy SAS, but please make it the cheapest possible for us
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Frustration around end packages
Earlier this month, the company notified mass layoffs of 1,300 employees in Norway alone. When staffing started with the first 350, E24 mentioned a frustration about the “final package” they were then offered.
The Norwegian employees were given two alternatives:
- The first is to work out the notice period, with a statutory right to re-entry for one year.
- The second was a final agreement where the employees waive the notice period and receive a one-off payment equivalent to half this time. In addition, they are placed in a so-called “recruitment pool” for three years, where SAS undertakes to recruit from the list, which is sorted by seniority, if necessary.
The case is being updated
700 cabin employees have been given notice of dismissal
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