SWISS airline embarks on major hiring spree
Swiss International Air Lines aims to hire 1,500 new staff to keep up with surging demand for flights after the lifting of coronavirus lockdowns.
The airline is focusing on cabin crew during in its hiring spree next year, including 1,000 flight attendants. This comes on top of 800 new staff that will have been hired by the end of 2022.
It is part of a recruitment drive of 20,000 new staff announced by parent company Lufthansa Group on Monday.
In common with many airlines, SWISS cut its workforce during the pandemic, announcing 780 job cuts in 2021 – later reduced to 550.
But airlines were surprised by the speed of recovery and were forced to cancel several flights this year because they did not have the staff to cope with demand.
This led to the unusual decision at the end of 2021 for SWISS to perform a u-turn and attempt to re-hire some staff who had been made redundant.
The airline returned to profitability this year but has faced disputes with staff demanding more pay and better working conditions.
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