Italian carrier Meridiana has agreed a redundancy package with its trade unions, a prerequisite to Qatar Airways taking a stake in the struggling Sardinia-based company.
After days of negotiations that at one point saw Qatar Airways walk away from the table, Meridiana’s unions agreed a package of job reductions and cuts to salaries.
Meridiana has a workforce of 1,600. This will be reduced by 396, consisting of 325 cabin crew with the remainder split between ground staff and maintenance personnel. A further 250 staff have already taken a voluntary redundancy package.
There will also be pay reductions of around 20% for pilots and cabin crew as part of a new, three-year labor contract.
The company—which operates a mixed fleet of Boeing 737-300s, -700s and -800s, 767-200ERs and -300ERs, plus MD-82s— has not made a profitsince 2008 and has been kept afloat by cash infusions from its parent organization, the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.
Qatar Airways, which has been tight-lipped during the latest round of negotiations, is understood to see Meridiana as a way of increasing its European presence. Italy is a significant market for the big Gulf carriers, with Etihad Airways holding a 49% stake in flag carrier Alitalia.
“The [Italian] government, Meridiana and the unions have signed a framework agreement in which the unions agreed a new labor contract,” a Meridiana spokeswoman said. “This is one of the pillars to go into the future with Qatar Airways and formed one of the conditions of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) [between the two airlines].”
Meridiana had previously warned that, if the unions did not agree to the deal with Qatar and the accompanying redundancies, a far greater number—more than 900—would have to be laid off to give it a chance of operating as a standalone airline.
There is as yet no precise indication of when the MOU between Meridiana and Qatar Airways will be converted into a firm agreement.
Meridiana reaches deal with unions | Labor content from ATWOnline
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