Aer Lingus to offer up to €180,000 redundancy to office staff

Aer Lingus will offer up to €180,000 to office workers to leave the airline as it bids to trim costs and boost margins, it has emerged.The Irish airline could cut up to 500 jobs across pilots, cabin crews and head-office staff in a recently announced plan to bring margins in line with targets set by parent International Airlines’ Group (AIG).Aer Lingus will give five weeks’ pay for every full year worked, up to a maximum of 104 weeks, capped at €180,000, to IT workers who leave the company under the plan. The deal includes statutory redundancy obligations.Union sources confirmed that the company set out the terms at talks earlier this week involving proposals for its head-office IT section, where the airline wants to cut up to 100 jobs.READ MORE[ Aer Lingus chief financial officer quits role after just over a year in postOpens in new window ]The company is likely to offer similar terms to other groups in head office, including customer and commercial, where it aims to reduce numbers by 40, and finance, where it will seek up to 20 redundancies.A 25 per cent reduction in management ranks this summer means he airline has achieved some of the reductions it is seeking in its customer and commercial division.Should Ireland share its corporation tax bonanza with the EU?Aer Lingus has invested in its IT systems over the last few years but now believes it needs to narrow down the skills needed in this section, according to one figure with knowledge of the negotiations.The airline has yet to set out terms for cabin crew and pilots but is expected to do so in coming weeks.Talks involving head-office staff are due to continue next week. Union figures estimate that the negotiations on this division could be finally wrapped up early in 2027.[ Aer Lingus head office staff seek to stall job cuts talksOpens in new window ]Unions including Siptu, which represents head office workers, Fórsa, whose members include cabin crew and some office staff, and the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association, all insist that any redundancies must be voluntary.Aer Lingus has not said this will be the case. However, it has stressed it will limit redundancies where possible, pledged to engage with unions and worker representatives and said it will meet all its statutory obligations.The airline is also seeking savings from suppliers, including maintenance and engine overhaul services, which are expensive.It will cut some services from next year’s schedule, including Dublin to Minneapolis/St Paul in the United State, and limit several to summertime only.Rising fuel costs and extra carbon bills have hit Aer Lingus this year. Earlier this month jet fuel prices were up 73 per cent higher than 12 months ago.