Some 4,000 jobs will be cut by 2030. This was announced by airline group Lufthansa, confirming reports that had been leaked last week. The group still plans to merge services and widely digitize processes.

Lufthansa’s goal is to achieve an operating profit of 8-10% of revenue, which in the past has not been achieved due to high operating costs. For this year, however, operating profit is expected to significantly exceed the 2024 figure of 1.6 billion euros, the company said, explaining that the measures aim to position the company for the future and create “sustainable attractive returns” for shareholders, who can continue to expect a dividend of 20-40% on earnings.

To achieve a more profitable operation, Lufthansa will consolidate services and processes across its companies (Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Ita), while staff cuts will affect 20% of employees in the administrative sector. Lufthansa, unlike other European airlines, has not yet reached its aircraft occupancy level to that of 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic. Due to the industry downturn that followed, Lufthansa has already cut 20,000 jobs.

However, management will have to deal with the threat of a strike by its pilots in the first instance, as negotiations over new contracts have not yet led to an agreement. Tomorrow, the vote by members of the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit on the proposal to strike at mainly Lufthansa and its subsidiary, Lufthansa Cargo, concludes. A key point of contention in the negotiations is the company contracts, with the employer side dismissing the workers’ demands as unfounded.