Ryanair’s CEO warns to cut 3,500 jobs if pay cuts cannot be agreed

On Wednesday, Ryanair’s (RYA.I) Chief Executive Officer Michael Kevin O’Leary announced that around 3,500 jobs would be slashed at the airline unless it could agree on a series of pay cuts with staff.

The warning came after the company resumed flights on almost 90% of its route network with just 40% of its usual July capacity.

According to Europe’s biggest budget airline, the company previously axed more than 250 staff from its office around Europe and was looking for additional 3,000 job cuts in pilots and cabin crews.

“We’ve already announced about 3,500 job losses, but we’re engaged in extensive negotiations with our pilots, our cabin crew, and we’re asking them to all take pay cuts as an alternative to job losses,” O’Leary said in an interview with BBC News.

“We’re looking from 20% from the best-paid captains, 5% from the lowest-paid flight attendants — and we think if we can negotiate those pay cuts by agreement, we can avoid most but not all job losses,” he added.