More Type rated pilots on dole!
Buzz, the Stansted-based low-cost airline, is to cut 12 routes, reduce its fleet and make up to 400 workers redundant, its new owner has said.
Ryanair, which in January agreed to buy Buzz from Dutch carrier KLM, also confirmed that all Buzz flights would be grounded "for the month of April 2003, at least".
It said the restructuring plans would be presented to staff and creditors over the next few days after which a final decision would be taken on whether to restart some flights on 1 May.
Ryanair said Buzz's financial position was "extremely precarious", and that the airline was losing more than 1m euros (£683,000) a week.
Workforce slashed
Ryanair announced the cuts as part of what it called a "major restructuring" of the loss-making airline.
BUZZ ROUTES CANCELLED
Charles de Gaulle
Dijon
Amsterdam
Marseille
Toulon
Tours
Bergerac
Caen
Geneva
Chambery
Brest
Almeira
It said it would reduce the number of aircraft from 12 to eight and aim to halve the price of current Buzz flights.
The 400 job cuts also proposed represent two-thirds of Buzz's current workforce.
Ryanair said move would mean redundancy for 20% of pilots, 80% of Buzz's current cabin crew and all its cargo and group sales staff.
The 200 remaining staff would be offered increased pay and productivity allowances, said Buzz's new owner.
Re-booking
It added that passengers booked on Buzz flights during April would be offered a full refund and then able to book new flights from 12 March.
The Buzz routes to be terminated include Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam and Almeira.