ANA to cut 3,500 jobs and reduce small planes amid coronavirus woes

ANA Holdings has decided on a plan to reduce the number of group employees by some 3,500 by fiscal 2022 in an effort to survive the coronavirus crisis, informed sources said Sunday. The airline group plans to downsize its workforce through compulsory retirement and a freeze on hiring, hoping to cut fixed costs to brace for prolonged pandemic-caused damage to travel demand. ANA will include the job cut plan in its business restructuring program to be announced Tuesday, the sources said. According to a securities report released by ANA, the number of the group's employees stood at around 46,000 as of the end of March this year. In the business restructuring program, ANA group also plans to include the reduction of the number of small aircraft it owns in response to a plunge in demand for international flights, the sources said. <br/>