Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways warns of redundancies ‘across several areas’

Etihad Airways on Tuesday announced it would be laying off staff across its company. “The coronavirus pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to businesses around the world, and Etihad is no exception. It is clear the demand for travel in the near future will be significantly reduced and as a result we must make difficult decisions to ensure Etihad will weather this storm,” an Etihad spokesperson said. “We are incredibly proud of our world-class workforce, however, we have had to make redundancies across several areas of our business to reflect current market conditions.” The UAE’s flag carrier, and the country’s second-largest airline, did not specify the number of jobs to be cut or the areas which would see redundancies. Based in Abu Dhabi, the state-owned airline had 20,530 employees as of August 2019. It suspended all passenger operations in late March at the order of the UAE government, and in April announced it had begun to cut wages and make staff redundant. It has operated select repatriation flights since then, and announced this week that it would recommence certain routes beginning June 1. <br/>