Coronavirus: Anger and dismay at Air NZ proposal to remove extra $150m from its wages bill

Air NZ may need to slash more jobs on top of 4000 redundancies it's already made as it responds to Covid-19, its CE says. In a letter sent to staff on Friday Greg Foran laid out a plan and timeline to get Air NZ back on its feet which included removing around $150m more from its wages bill starting Friday. "We are open to explore all options with unions that help meet our cost saving goals, but I do want to be clear that we need to brace ourselves for more discussions around leave without pay, reduced hours, job share, voluntary exits with redundancies as the last option," Foran said. E tū union head of aviation Savage said staff were angered and dismayed at the news. Last week Air NZ said its initial labour reductions of 4000 staff was expected to drive savings of $350 to $400m a year. “The company is heavily focused on saving money and is in danger of being blinded to the importance of treating both employees and customers with respect,” Savage said. Foran, who is 123 days into the job as CE, said over the next two years the airline would transition through a three-step plan to survive, revive and thrive. The plan would take it through to its annual results announcement in late August 2022, which is in around 800 days’ time.<br/>