Irish airline Aer Lingus will not publish its 2009 earnings Tuesday as planned so it can adjust provisions for cost-cutting measures that cabin crew rejected last week.
The former state airline said it would not publish full results until an unspecified date, and would issue a brief trading update on Tuesday instead.
Aer Lingus, which has fended off two hostile bids by Irish rival Ryanair, wants to reduce its annual operating costs by EUR€97 million euros (USD$133 million) by shedding up to a fifth of staff.
The proposed plan to stop it burning through its cash reserves has been accepted by unions representing pilots, middle management and by some ground staff and cabin crew.
But cabin crew represented by the IMPACT union rejected the plan Friday, and maintenance staff will only publish the result of their ballot Tuesday. Aer Lingus said it was determined to realize the planned cuts in any case.
"These savings are vital to realign the cost base of the company and position Aer Lingus for a successful future," it said in a statement.
Aer Lingus is expected to announce a 2009 operating loss of EUR€87.7 million, in-house broker Goodbody said.
If it does not get agreement from unions, Aer Lingus has said it would push ahead with an alternative plan to streamline the company by imposing more redundancies, some on a compulsory basis.
"The Company's Board of Directors will meet tomorrow to formally approve the steps that will now be taken to achieve these cost savings," it said.
Aer Lingus' shares -- of which Ryanair, the government and employees control 70 percent between them -- fell 1.6 percent in late trade to 0.60 euros, reversing earlier gains and trading at less than half the 1.4 euros Ryanair offered in late 2008.
Airlines are reeling from aviation's worst year on record, during which demand dropped faster than capacity was trimmed, but workers across the industry have lost patience with cost-cutting programs.
Lufthansa and British Airways have been two of the biggest European carriers hit by strikes this year.
In another fresh risk to Ireland's traditionally peaceful industrial relations, public sector unions said Monday they would begin strikes in an escalation of their campaign against the government's fiscal reforms.
