KLM will carry out a reduction of close to 15% of its workforce, within a process in which around 5,000 jobs have already been reorganized or will do so soon. Of these, around 2,000 will be transferred to the parent group Air France-KLM, as part of a package of structural measures aimed at strengthening the operational and financial performance of the Dutch airline, which seeks an annual revenue improvement of 1,000 million euros.
After these adjustments, the company estimates that it will have around 1,000 fewer employees. However, the company intends to cushion the impact by relying on natural turnover, voluntary departures, and internal redeployments to other positions, as it has detailed in a statement.
"KLM's future is not guaranteed. The environment in which we operate is becoming increasingly complex, with global instability, high fuel prices, and growing pressure on the aviation industry," its chair and CEO, Marjan Rintel, said in a note.
On the labor front, the airline has set as its goal to achieve, by 2028, a structural productivity increase of at least 8%, accompanied by very contained wage growth. To this end, it has said its intention is to work with trade union organizations in the negotiation of new collective agreements that "are sustainable in the long term".
At the same time, KLM will move forward with simplifying its fleet, gradually retiring the older aircraft. The A321neo model will continue to operate, while the lower-capacity Embraer E195-E2 will replace the A320s initially planned.
With a greater number of smaller aircraft, the company is seeking to adapt more precisely the seat offering to demand across its European network, strengthening the role of KLM Cityhopper, which will take on a "more relevant" role. The Boeing 737s and the Embraer E190s will be phased out gradually over the coming years.
In addition, several activities of the Ground Services and Cargo divisions, as well as those of Engineering and Maintenance, will be subject to reorganization, outsourcing to external providers, or integration into the Air France-KLM structure.
The Air France-KLM proposal to incorporate the Scandinavian SAS, currently under analysis by the European Commission, is considered an additional lever for generating new opportunities for cooperation, synergies, and economies of scale within the group.
The company’s matrix presented this Thursday its results for the first half of the year, in which the Dutch subsidiary obtained an operating result of 526 million euros, 60% more in year-on-year terms, and raised its revenue by 9.4%, to 10.865 billion euros, thereby helping to offset the higher cost of fuel.
Unit costs fell back, reflecting above all a more efficient use of the fleet and a notable drop in crewed charter expenses, despite a slight increase in maintenance costs.