Latvian airline airBaltic said it is preparing workforce layoffs that could affect about 500 to 700 positions across its bases in Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn.
The carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York in September, aiming to complete a sweeping restructuring focusedon cutting its mounting debt through capacity and fleet reductions.
AirBaltic gained approval last month to access €140m from a wider €350m financing package.
CEO Erno Hilden told Reuters in September that the airline was in talks with labour unions over “an adjustment” to the workforce.
The company said today that it is in talks with unions on potential reduced workload arrangements for pilots and cabin crew.
New organisational structures for the rest of the company are expected to be defined by mid-October, airBaltic said
The final number of layoffs could change within the courseof the process, it added.
AirBaltic, which has a fleet of some 50 Airbus A220-300 planes, is majority-owned by the Latvian government, with Germany’s Lufthansa holding a 10% minority stake.
The airline operates flights to and from Dublin to cities including Riga, Vilnius, Palanga, Tallinn and Helsinki.
The US war with Iran has caused jet fuel prices to double, sparking the air travel sector’s worst crisis since the Covid-19 pandemic. Investors and executives have warned that carriers with stretched balance sheets risked collapse.
