Friday, 10. February 2012

:: Home > Business > Quarter of AUA's Austrian Cargo staff to get chop as merger looms

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
30	31	1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	1	2	3	4

Add your event FREE

Today

Polls

24. 02. 10. - 14:00

Quarter of AUA's Austrian Cargo staff to get chop as merger looms

Struggling Austrian Airlines (AUA) continues its job-cutting spree as it emerged today (Weds) that one in four workers at its freight division will lose their jobs.

The company said 50 of its 200 Austrian Cargo employees will be dismissed as of 1 July 2010 as it merges its freight division with that of Lufthansa. The German aviation giant acquired a major stake in AUA last September � a move that rescued AUA from bankruptcy, according to many analysts.

AUA said the decision was part of its ambition to get back into the black as soon as possible.

Lufthansa Cargo employs around 4,600 people worldwide. It had a turnover of 2.9 billion Euros in 2008. AUA�s Austrian Cargo made 140 million Euros in the same year.

AUA said the two freight divisions will be headed by a "joint leadership".

The announcement comes the day after the company, founded in 1957, said 210 workers at its technical department have to go.

AUA spokesman Martin Hehemann said the initial plan had been to lay off 250 technicians. He said the affected employees had been informed on Monday and had already been registered with the Austrian Labour Market Service (AMS).

AUA�s competitors attacked the deal with Lufthansa.

Niki Lauda, CEO of budget airline FlyNiki, said he was angry with the Austrian government over its decision to bolster the ailing company with 500 million Euros of taxpayers' money shortly before Lufthansa stepped in.

The European Commission eventually gave the green light for the takeover after checking claims the new airline could breach competition laws by creating a monopoly in the European aviation business.

AUA�s connections to Russia are feared to be at risk after the Russian government recently announced it expected clarification from the new AUA board over whether the firm could still be considered Austrian. This comes as Russia�s bilateral agreement on connections was signed on condition that the company had Austrian owners.

Austrian Times

Write your comment to this article here

Tag cloud:
aviation Cargo bolster government workers merger Russia money freight ailing division Euros competitors taxpayers employees Labour European Austrian airline Lufthansa

Latest News

Set up tax on financial transactions soon, says Katzian
The head of the Association of Private Employees (GPA-djp) has called for a quick introduction of a tax on financial transactions.

P�hringer rejects U-turn on rightist ball
Young Social Democrats (SP�) have appealed to Upper Austrian Governor Josef P�hringer not to attend the Burschenbundball in Linz this Saturday.

FP� under fire after trip to Grozny
The Freedom Party (FP�) has been harshly criticised for meeting with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

WKO boss wants pension age hike incentives
Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) President Christoph Leitl has identified attempts to raise the average retirement age as the key issue regarding Austria�s budget.

Woman and child run over in Vienna
A woman and child have died in a road accident in Vienna, Austria. The lorry driver was making a right turn when he drove into a group of pedestrians leaving a 59-year-old and a 12-year-old dead. The mother of the school girl was left with serious injuries.

Schlecker says Austrian jobs are safe
The son of Schlecker founder Anton Schlecker has claimed that the company has no plans to sell its Austrian affiliate.

SP� sees smaller parliament as key signal
The general secretary of the Social Democrats (SP�) has argued his support for a reduction of the size of the parliament.

Austrian food to feature in organic trade fair
Austria is expected to be well represented at next week�s BioFach 2012 international organic trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Some 90 companies and organisations from the Austrian organic good sector will feature at the fair from 15 to 18 February.

Brothel for the homeless in Vienna
Homeless people are queueing up for free rooms in an Austrian brothel after owner Peter Laskaris said it would be unfair not to do everything he could during the current cold spell.

Deep-freeze snacks for orangutans in Sch�nbrunn
The lucky orangutans who take up residence in Europe�s oldest zoo have been indulging in a twice weekly take-away. Despite the trees in Sch�nbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria now being completely bare the fury friends have fresh branches and leaves delivered twice a week.