The airline Avianca will cut around 6.000 jobs due to the corona pandemic. It currently employs around 20.000 people. CFO Adrian Neuhauser told the daily La Tercera that the workforce would be reduced to around 14.000.

“Before Covid-19, we were just over 20.000 employees and not an efficient company. We believe that we will be operationally 30 percent smaller post-covid, which would mean around 14.000 in the long term, ”said the manager. "Today about half of Avianca's workforce has suspended their contracts due to the crisis and the company hopes that with the approval of the Chapter 11 restructuring plan, it can begin a restructuring aimed at reducing the business."

The Colombian government is taking Avianca under its wings with a loan of $ 370 million. However, that is not enough. Neuhauser emphasizes, however, that further financial resources for stabilization have been secured on the capital market. “Profitability remains a critical focus. If we restart the business and adjust the product, we believe that profitability will be 70 percent higher than before. This company grew very quickly and provided a lot of capacity on many routes that were not meeting demand. It is important not to generate oversupply. This includes downsizing the network and reducing costs, ”said the Avianca CFO.