Ryanair has announced plans to cut up to 3,000 jobs in the coming months as a “direct result of the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis.”

This morning, the airline said it was also considering pay cuts of up to 20%, unpaid leave and the closure of a number of its aircraft bases across Europe.

The job losses will mainly affect pilots and cabin crew.

In a statement, Ryanair said it now expects it to take at least 2 years for passenger demand to reach pre-outbreak levels.

In a statement, the Fórsa union which represents Ryanair cabin crew and pilots said it had “received a short communication from the airline shortly after reports of potential job losses and pay cuts emerged this morning.”

“Fórsa will be seeking an early engagement with the airline, and will make no public comment until management has formally outlined a detailed position to the union,” it said.

COVID-19

Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said the airline industry has never face a period like this.

“We’ll carry less than 150,000 passengers in the three months to June compared to a budget of 42 million,” he said. “We are 99.5% behind our original traffic projections.”

“We do expect to be back flying a limited programme by July, August and into September.”

The airline said it expects to carry no more than half its original target of passenger in the second quarter of 2020.

Meanwhile, it expects to carry 33.5% fewer passengers than planned over the coming 12 months.

Headquarters

The airline is working towards bringing the majority of staff at its Airside headquarters back to work later this month or at the start of June.

The return will be on a phased basis and staff will be subject to temperature checks when entering the building.

Anyone found to have a high temperature will be sent home.

Airside staff have also been warned that there will be some job losses at the headquarters.

Job cuts

Mr O’Leary said the airline would now start a process on consultation with staff unions.

“If we are going to carry a third less passengers this year, I am afraid we are going to need fewer pilots and fewer cabin crew,” he said.

“We are going to have to lose about 3,00 pilots and cabin crew- that is about 15% of our workforce.

“The remainder will be facing pay cuts for the next two years of up to 20%.”

The airline has also hit out at what it calls “unlawful and discriminatory State Aid” offered to a number of legacy airlines by their governments.

Devastating

The former chair of the Oireachtas Transport Committee Fergus O’Dowd said the announcement is devastating news.

“The key point that Ryanair is making is that it is because of state aid to other airlines in France and Germany, they won’t be able to compete,” he said.

“Clearly it is very bad news for the Ryanair workers who may lose their jobs.

“To get back flying again in the way it was is going to take a lot of time and I suppose, until we get a vaccine, that is going to be a problem.”

Ryanair said it would challenge the state aid given to ‘legacy airlines’ by EU members states in the European courts – claiming it is worth up to €30bn.

Pointing at packages agreed for Lufthansa Group, Air France-KLM, Alitalia, SAS, and Norwegian, it said the supports will “distort Europe’s level playing field in airline competition for many years.”

It said certain airlines will now be able to “fund many years of below cost selling” while others will others are left to compete without financial supports.