Aer Lingus is looking to axe at least 150 jobs as part of a voluntary redundancy scheme, but it said the cuts are nothing to do with IAG’s attempts to buy the airline.
The Irish carrier, which employs 3,900 people in total, is looking for redundancies from head office, IT, cabin crew and its maintenance operation at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports between March and December.
It said further restructuring could lead to a further 120 voluntary redundancies and the roles would then be filled by cheaper staff on lower rates of pay.
Meanwhile, the Irish government, which is a major shareholder in Aer Lingus, said it has still to be convinced of the merits of a takeover bid by British Airways’ parent IAG.
IAG is considering submitting a third, increased offer for the carrier but Ireland’s transport minister Paschal Donohoe said an interdepartmental group had held a second meeting with IAG to discuss a potential bid and the airline had failed to allay their concerns.
"IAG have laid out the circumstances in which they would be prepared to make a formal bid.
"However, we as a shareholder remain to be convinced regarding the merits of what they’re putting forward," he told Irish publication independent.ie
"As I have said all along, we will be evaluating far more than a share price, in relation to any decision that we make."
