Lufthansa Cargo To Cut Up To 800 Jobs Worldwide

Lufthansa Cargo is to cut up to 800 jobs, out of a worldwide workforce of around 4,600, as it reduces costs to remain competitive.

Lufthansa Cargo said the plan to cut 700-800 jobs would help it cut costs by EUR€80 million (USD$90 million) a year, but did not say when that would start to take effect. Up to 500 of the job cuts would be in Germany, it said.

IATA last week lowered its growth forecast for air freight demand in 2016 to 2.1 percent, from a previous prediction of 3 percent growth, due to weak global GDP and trade growth.

Freighter fleets are also increasingly competing with passenger planes as new planes offer more space in their holds for cargo.

Lufthansa expects profits at its cargo arm will drop significantly this year from EUR€74 million (USD$83 million) in 2015. It has already grounded two MD11 freighters in response to lower market demand, leaving it with five Boeing 777F and 12 MD-11s in service.