Lufthansa staff call for an end to cost-cutting amid airport chaos

• Employees at Lufthansa have urged the German flag carrier to stop its “cost-cutting madness”.
• Staff representatives complained that there are not enough workers to meet the summer demand.
• Chairman Karl-Ludwig said he has never seen such an accumulation of problems in his career.

Employees at Lufthansa have urged the German flag carrier to stop its “cost-cutting madness,” accusing it of poor management and causing the recent commotion at airports by letting too many people go.

In a letter to the supervisory board obtained by Reuters on Wednesday, staff representatives complained that there are not enough workers to meet the burgeoning summer demand and that they must be provided with the greatest possible working environment.

In a message to staff members, Chairman Karl-Ludwig Kley stated that he was aware of allegations from personnel of consumer hostility and, in some cases, even violent attacks, as well as “of despair and tears, of impotence while being committed to Lufthansa.”

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In the statement sent on the Lufthansa intranet and reviewed by Reuters later on Wednesday, he stated, “I have not seen such an accumulation of problems in my career.”

According to Kley, the situation is getting worse because of airspace restrictions and a lack of spare parts as a result of the chip problem. He also stated that he anticipates that additional steps taken by Lufthansa, such as hiring more workers and cancelling flights, will eventually start to show results.

During the coronavirus pandemic, which grounded the majority of flights, Lufthansa cut employees and other expenses and discovered itself short-staffed just as it was attempting to take advantage of the returning summer travel demand.

“A service organisation that is run against its own personnel has no future,” the Lufthansa staff had warned.

Late in June, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr expressed regret to the company’s staff and customers, admitting that the airline “did go too far in lowering expenses here and there.”

In the midst of impending walkouts, the whole aviation sector is facing a summer of travel disruptions, including Lufthansa.

SAS’s pilots went on strike, Heathrow employees at British Airways decided to strike in June over salary, and Spanish-based cabin crew at Ryanair and easyJet intend to go on strike this month to demand better working conditions. The weekend saw a work stoppage at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris in protest of low wages.

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