Sabena was around for seventy eight years and managed to make a profit twice in that time - and one of those occasions was thanks to some smoke-and-mirrors book-keeping on the part of SAir Group when they sold off the family silver.
Perhaps if the Belgian government had done the same thing that Maggie did back in the 80s with BA and cut it off from the public apron-strings, it might have been a different story. There's no place for state ownership of airlines in Europe today. If they can't float (or fly) they must be allowed to sink.
Protectionism at the cost of successful private operators is inexcusable.
Here's Muller's memo to SN's staff:
MESSAGE FROM CHRISTOPH MUELLER - 31.10.01
Dear colleagues,
This memo aims at keeping you informed of the development of the “Concordat” situation of our company. I know you are asking yourselves many questions and the rumors in the press are not making things easy on anybody.
No decision whatsoever has been made yet, but we are progressing in our thinking and and I would like to share this with you.
Unfortunately, and as you will understand, I have to convey to you a mixture of bad and good news.
Some bad news to face
Despite the numerous efforts made at all levels, including at government level, it appears more and more likely that investors will NOT be found to take over and invest in the whole Sabena SA activity.
Our financial track record is quite dramatic. Our debt amounts today to more than 90 billion BEF and our cost structure is quite high.
Since the events of 11 September, nobody is ready or willing to invest such huge amounts of money in an airline without even being sure it can be profitable. In the case of Sabena, it would take much too long for investors to get a return on their investment (if ever … ).
All is however not lost …
If no investor can be found for Sabena as a whole, some have however showed a lot of interest in some of our activities.
Although nothing has been confirmed yet, there is a high likelihood that an airline activity (and jobs !) can be maintained. It would be much more reduced than today. It would be based on a regional activity (DAT operations) to which some medium and long haul operations would be added.
BUT to make this happen, new capital has to be found. We are today in talks with some financial investors who could be interested in injecting money into the new activity. They would be ready to do that on 2 conditions: (1) if they don’t have to take the Sabena debt over and (2) if the new company to be created proves that it can be profitable in a very short timeframe. This obviously requires to build a very low cost operation, which, in other words, means changing most of the ways we work … and seriously increasing productivity.
The maintaining of an airline activity will also be key to maintaining some other activities (and jobs !) alive (Catering, Ground Handling, Cargo, Technics, … . Talks are also underway with investors. For most of those activities, the conditions put by potential investors are twofold: (1) they will not move before they are certain an airline activity can be maintained and (2) they will want to operate on a low cost basis in order to be profitable and offer competitive prices to their customers. The conditions and the number of jobs involved will have to be discussed in detail when/if things get clearer on the airline front.
A social plan for all who will lose their jobs
A first estimate of the situation allows us to say today that, if everything goes as expected, about 6000 jobs could be secured.
The bad news is of course that several thousands other jobs will not be maintained. Which ones ? It is impossible to tell today. And yes, we are facing a very serious situation on the social front.
This is where the social plan interferes.
All people who will be without a job at the end of the process will be able to benefit from a social plan that will be put together by the Government. The modalities of it are not known yet and they will need to be negotiated with the Unions. The Government is also planning to put a major outplacement program in place. All efforts will be made to offer redeployment and retraining opportunities to employees.
***
As you can see, things are not all clear yet and no final decisions have been made. We are still pursuing all possible efforts to build a future for the largest number of people. I’m sorry we cannot answer all your questions at this stage. I know the current uncertainty is creating a lot of stress for everybody. Please be assured that everything is put in place to try and find solutions as soon as possible.
In theory, we should know more in about 10 days, even if no specific date has been set.
Thank you to all !
Christoph Müller
[ 05 November 2001: Message edited by: The Guvnor ]