KLM offers voluntary layoff scheme to save costs

This week, KLM implemented a voluntary resignation scheme to cope with huge financial losses. One of the largest cost factors is employee costs and by introducing such a scheme, the Dutch airline hopes to reduce these costs and make it through these unprecedented times.

A KLM Airbus A330-200 registered PH-AOC. Photo by Matt Lino | AeroNewsX

On 19 May, 2020, KLM announced that it would be implementing a voluntary resignation scheme. This scheme will come into force on 1 June, 2020. Employees will be able to resign and get financial compensation in return. The airline has already fired a few thousand employees but of course, would rather employees leave willingly, instead of having to fire them.

KLM is struggling to make ends meet. Almost 90 percent of its fleet is grounded with demand at an all-time low and it seems like this will continue for some time. On top of that, the European Commission announced that it will act against the European member states that force travel vouchers. This means passengers are always able to reclaim their money. This rule will cause more liquidity problems for airlines and could even push more airlines into bankruptcy. Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure - it will take quite a while before the industry returns to some sort of normality.