Kenya Airways to cut up to 600 jobs

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP

Kenya Airways, the east African country’s struggling national airline, is to cut up to 600 jobs as part of a bid to achieve $200 million in savings, the airline said Thursday.

The reductions at the airline, partly owned by the government as well as Air France KLM, could see around 15 percent of the 4,000-strong workforce cut.

As part of efforts to improve profitability and “seek a long term sustainable financial structure”, the airline said it had been forced to take “hard decisions on the aircraft we fly as well as making substantial changes on other aspects of our business.”

Kenya Airways, which uses the slogan “The Pride of Africa”, is one of the contine nt’s  biggest carriers, and a key airline connecting multiple nations within Africa to Europe and Asia.

“We will embark on a restructuring process that will result in approximately 600 members of staff being declared redundant or redeployed elsewhere,” the statement said, adding that the cuts will begin in May.

Kenya has seen international tourist numbers dented in recent years, with some visitors scared off after attacks by the Somali-led and Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.

AFP