26,000 Lufthansa employees are at risk of losing their jobs

Lufthansa said Wednesday that 26,000 jobs were in excess of needs. This suggests that many more jobs will be lost than the carrier announced a few weeks ago.

Speaking after a meeting with trade unions, a Lufthansa spokeswoman said the airline estimated a surplus of 22,000 jobs or 26,000 employees.

Last week, Lufthansa pledged to carry out a large-scale restructuring, from job cuts to asset sales, as it tries to pay off the € 9 billion bailout package received from Germany and deal with a deepening pandemic.

The company is trying to reach an agreement with the unions to force employees to work part-time and otherwise reduce personnel costs before an extraordinary general meeting is held on June 25 where shareholders will vote on the bailout.