Almost 200 Aer Lingus staff in Cork to be temporarily laid off

AER Lingus has confirmed that 198 cabin crew and ground staff in its Cork base are to be laid off until late November.

Aer Lingus staff were today advised that the cumulative impact of the last 15 months means immediate actions and structural changes are required at the airline.

Immediate actions announced today by the airline include the temporary closure of the Aer Lingus base at Cork airport from September until late November 2021 and the permanent closure of the Aer Lingus cabin crew base at Shannon airport.

There are approximately 60 ground staff and 138 cabin crew in the Cork base who will be laid off from early September until late November 2021.

The airline will also commence a review of their ground handling requirements in both Shannon and Cork airports while continuing reduced working hours and associated pay reductions and lay-offs.

They warned that there is potential for more layoffs.

Structural change will also be required across the business.

Aer Lingus confirmed to staff that the airline will emerge smaller from the pandemic and there will be a requirement for redundancies.

The airline said it has commenced discussions with Unions representing employees in Aer Lingus regarding both the immediate and structural changes that need to be implemented.

It comes after the airline issued financial results which showed it had lost €103 million in the first three months of 2021. This is on top of a loss of €361million in 2020.