The German airline company Lufthansa announced on Monday that it would lay off 4,000 employees, or about 4% of its staff, highlighting the downturn that is affecting the biggest economy in Europe.
According to Lufthansa, the bulk of the layoffs will occur in Germany by 2030 and will primarily affect administrative rather than operational roles.
The group, which has about 103,000 employees, consists of the recently purchased Italian flagship carrier ITA Airways, as well as Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss, and Brussels Airlines.
With unemployment at a ten-year high, Germany is experiencing its second consecutive year of recession.
Due to sluggish adoption of new technology, high energy costs, and competition from China, some of the nation’s largest corporations have been severely impacted by the slump.
Days before to Lufthansa’s announcement, industrial behemoth Bosch, another significant German corporation, said that it will lay off 13,000 employees, or 3% of its global workforce.
According to a statement from the firm, “The Lufthansa Group is reviewing which activities will no longer be necessary in the future, for example due to duplication of work.”
“Many areas and processes will become more efficient as a result of the significant changes brought about by digitalisation and the growing use of artificial intelligence,” the statement stated.
For 2028–2030, Lufthansa established new financial goals, one of which was to achieve an adjusted operating margin of 8–10%.
