Iberia Preparing New Job Cuts

Iberia is preparing new job cuts to reduce costs after completing the current round of redundancies, its chairman Luis Gallego said.

Iberia had already reached a deal with unions in 2014 to cut up to 1,427 jobs until the end of 2017. Gallego said there was room for 462 more job losses in the current voluntary redundancy programme, which he hoped to complete this year.

After that Iberia will seek a new agreement with the unions for additional voluntary job losses for older employees close to retirement, Gallego said.

"We still have an excess of people in some units", he said, but did not give any figures.

As of December 2015, Iberia employed 16,564 people.

The airline, owned by IAG, has undergone a major restructuring since its 2011 merger with British Airways, cutting jobs and salaries.