Lufthansa to slash 700 jobs

BERLIN: Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s plane-servicing business is cutting 700 engine-maintenance jobs as new, low-maintenance engines and fresh competitors put a dent in earnings at its most profitable unit. Most of the cuts will come at Lufthansa Technik’s Hamburg site, which employs 1,800 people, spokesman Jens Krueger said

The unit has 2,000 workers throughout Germany. The airline will rely on measures such as early retirement to achieve the reductions in the next five-to-eight years, Krueger said. The challenge facing the division is that modern engines need to be serviced less frequently, he said. Lufthansa Technik has said its global market share shrunk to 8 per cent last year from 13 per cent in 2009.