In the previous year, Austrian Airlines received state aid and a guarantee for a loan from the Republic of Austria. Since then, many jobs have been cut and now, according to company boss Alexis von Hoensbroech, another 500 jobs are to be cut.

So far, the carrier has not announced any “real” layoffs, as many corporate divisions are still on short-time work. Rather, it was about resignations without replacement and golden handshakes. In the course of the closure of ground stations in the federal states, almost all those affected decided in favor of the social plan and against a takeover by the airport subsidiary (Klagenfurt) or ISS (Linz). In Salzburg there was no way to change to the airport. Innsbruck is the only AUA ground station that has remained next to Vienna.

Alexis von Hoensbroech explained that the workforce had fallen from 6.999 employees in summer 2019 to 6.132 employees. This is a decrease of around nine percent. But it will not stay that way, because you literally want to get rid of around 500 more employees. This means that the AUA wants to reduce the workforce by 1.350 full-time positions since the beginning of the corona pandemic. 

The further course of action is still unclear, as it is not yet possible to foresee whether the goal can still be achieved through natural fluctuation and golden handshakes. Operational layoffs cannot be ruled out, but this is not news, as Hoensbroech announced this some time ago. The union and the opposition criticize the behavior of the AUA and are disappointed that the government did not demand any job guarantees in the course of granting state aid.