Rumor: JAL to cut 16,500 jobs by March 2011

Nikkei reports an update on Japan Airlines (JAL) layoff plan. According to Nikkei, JAL will cut around 16,500 staff by March 2011, 2 years ahead of schedule.

Part of the cut will be via early retirement program. The first round of the program will end on Friday. 2nd and 3rd round of the program will start in June and September respectively. Below is the break down of the cuts.

Staff cuts breakdown by Nikkei on May 7 2010
Pilot: 775
Maintenance Staff: 1,678
Cabin Crew: 2,460
Airport-related staff (KIX, NGO): 1,555
Airport-related staff (e.g. NRT): 2,536
Sales: 2,043
cargo and other peripheral operations: 5,405
Total: 16,452

Yomiuri Online actually had a similar report on January 22, 3 days after JAL filing for bankruptcy. There numbers are really close to Nikkei's, but Nikkei's have 1,482 extra cuts. Below is the break down from Yomiuri as reported in January.

Staff cuts breakdown by Yomiuri Online on January 22 2010
Other Subsidiaries: 16,630 -> 7,810 (-8,820)
Head Office: 2970 -> 1890 (-1,080)
Airport Ground Staff: 12,020 -> 9,850 (-2,170)
Maintenance Staff: 6,620 -> 5,570 (-1,050)
Cabin Crew: 9,440 -> 8,120 (-1,320)
Pilot: 4,180 -> 3,650 (-530)
Total: 14,970

The transport minister made a comment regarding JAL's restructuring today at a lower house transport committee meeting. He said JAL must cut staff and routes because these are the roots of their problems!

According to Nikkei,

"Given that flight demand remains weak, JAL's rehabilitation plans must be able to drastically eliminate issues afflicting the company," Maehara said.

Seems like there are lots of restructuring info floating around lately. I guess JAL is once again at the stage of asking around for comments of their plan (just like before they file for bankruptcy). You got to love those unnamed sources close to the company :P Until JAL officially file the restructuring plan with the court, I expect this to continue...

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