Two thousand jobs may be axed at Swissair

Reports suggest that as many as 2,000 Swissair employees may lose their jobs Keystone Archive

Around 2,000 employees at Swissair could lose their jobs as part of measures to help the troubled company parent company, SAirGroup out of its current crisis, according to a report published in the Swiss newspaper, "SonntagsZeitung".

The paper says that the job cuts, which amount to around a quarter of the airline’s workforce, could be a consequence of a restructuring programme at SAirGroup.

It estimates that in a worst-case scenario, Swissair will be forced to shed 2,268 jobs.

SAirGroup is estimated to have lost as much as SFr2.5 billion in the past year. The management board announced its mass resignation on March 9, taking collective responsibility for the company’s financial problems.

The Swiss government has announced its intention to keep its three per cent stake in the company.

The newly-appointed SAirGroup chairman, Mario Corti, will lay out the future direction of the company at a press conference on April 2.

He has already hinted that severe cost-cutting measures are on the table. On Saturday, he suggested he was looking towards an eventual merger of Swissair with its regional subsidiary, Crossair. But he declined to comment on whether job losses would follow such a merger.

Corti is also keen to ditch the SAirGroup name, referring to the company by the name of Swissair. “The title SAirGroup really gets on my nerves,” said Corti. “There is only one name for the company – and that’s Swissair”.

Another Swiss German newspaper, the “SonntagsBlick”, focused its attention on the likely pay-off for the outgoing SAirGroup president, Eric Honegger.

The paper alleges that despite SAirGroup’s heavy losses, Honegger is set to receive up to SFr5 million upon his departure.

swissinfo with agencies