El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) CEO Eliezer Shkedy and Histadrut General Federation of Labor chairman Ofer Eini have agreed to postpone cuts at the troubled airline until the end of May. As part of the streamlining process currently being undertaken by the carrier, El Al is examining its most appropriate corporate structure, staffing levels and employees' conditions.
Eini met with Shkedi and asked that the streamlining, which was due to be implemented immediately, be delayed until the end of May. Shkedi complied with the request. The Histadrut said that Eini plans being involved in solving the substantive issues currently confronting El Al.
Over the past few months, El Al has fired 200 employees and reduced its workforce to 5,791 of whom 1,955 are temporary employees. The company had 5,964 employees at the start of 2011 of whom 2,150 were temporary positions. Most of those fired in the last wave earlier this year were temporary employees.
El Al reported a loss of $49.4 million in 2011 mainly due to higher jet fuel costs and the global slowdown in the second half of the year due to the euro zone debt crisis.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 3, 2012
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