Emirates has confirmed plans to cut jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, although it has yet to reveal how many employees will be laid off.
The Gulf carrier took the unusual step of posting a statement attributed to an Emirates spokesperson onto the media office of the Government of Dubai, which reads:
“During these difficult times, and although we have slowly started our return to the skies by keeping in line with the safety measures. The current pandemic has impacted many industries around the world and although we have endeavored to sustain the current family as is, we reviewed all possible scenarios in order to sustain our business operations, but have come to the conclusion that we unfortunately have to say goodbye to a few of the wonderful people that worked with us.
We continuously are reassessing the situation and will have to adapt to this transitional period. We do not view this lightly, and the company is doing everything possible to protect jobs wherever we can. Where we are forced to take tough decisions we will treat people with fairness and respect. We will work with impacted employees to ensure they are looked after and taken care of with necessary means.”
Last month Bloomberg reported that Emirates was “considering slashing about 30,000 jobs”.
The carrier recently resumed regular services to nine destinations including London, Paris, Chicago and Sydney, with Dubai International airport reopening its Terminal 3 to operate the flights.
The airline has implemented a number of ground and inflight and safety and hygiene measures, including complimentary travel hygiene kits for passengers, containing masks, gloves, antibacterial wipes and hand sanitiser.
