Irish airline Aer Lingus plans to proceed with its cost cutting to ensure the long-term viability of the company, despite a breakdown in talks with a trade union over outsourcing jobs, it said.

"The reality is that the airline does not have time on its side and cannot endure another year of losses in 2009," Aer Lingus said in a statement late on Wednesday after four weeks of talks with union SIPTU had broken down.

"Given the union's failure to produce alternatives, we will now focus on concluding contract discussions with third party suppliers," it added.

In August Aer Lingus posted a EUR22.3 million euro (USD$28.42 million) first-half operating loss and said it would need fundamental changes in its operating cost base in order to ensure the long-term viability of its business.

SIPTU said it would hold a strike if Aer Lingus proceeded with plans to outsource jobs.

"The company withdrew from the process because it claimed that it could not see any viable alternatives to its own outsourcing agenda", SIPTU National Industrial Secretary Gerry McCormack said in a statement.

"We will be reviewing our position at a full meeting of shop stewards on Friday afternoon," he added.