Lufthansa Group launches 'ReNew' restructuring programme

Lufthansa Group approved (07-Jul-2020) a second set of measures as part of its overall restructuring programme in response to COVID-19. The programme, entitled 'ReNew', will be headed up by Dr Detlef Kayser, currently responsible for airline resources and operations. Details include:

• The executive board and management bodies of the subsidiaries will be reduced in size compared with 2019. In a first step, the number of board members was reduced by one position each at Lufthansa Cargo, LSG Sky Chefs, and Lufthansa Aviation Training;
• Government loans and equity participation are to be reduced as quickly as possible to avoid a further increase in interest charges;
• The number of leadership positions throughout the group will be reduced by 20%;
• The administration of the company will be reduced by 1000 positions;
• The process of transforming Lufthansa into a separate corporate entity will be accelerated.

Lufthansa Group reiterated there will be a calculated personnel surplus of at least 22,000 full time positions due to the long term impacts of COVID-19. While Lufthansa aims to avoid layoffs wherever possible, this requires agreements on crisis-related measures with unions and social partners representing the Lufthansa employees. The company noted negotiations have only been successful with the UFO cabin union to date. [more - original PR]