Iceland Air laid off all its flight attendants. Why?

Under the huge impact of the epidemic, Icelandair’s revenue has gradually decreased. According to data, in May 2019, Icelandair received 419,000 passengers, while in May 2020, the number was only 3,100. The sudden drop in the number of people has greatly reduced Icelandair's profits, making it difficult to maintain normal operations for all employees of the airline.

In June this year, in order to maintain the normal operations of the airline, Icelandair was forced to announce a financial restructuring, which included negotiating a new wage agreement. But unfortunately, on July 8, the cabin crew of the Icelandic Airlines Union rejected this provisional agreement, causing negotiations to reach a deadlock, and the airline also faced unprecedented difficulties.

Finally, Icelandair said it would permanently stop hiring existing cabin crew. As soon as this statement came out, a large number of flight attendants lost their jobs. When asked whether this policy will affect Icelandair's service quality, the company responded that service will continue to remain at the lowest level since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic. ?

But this policy does not mean that Icelandair has eliminated the position of flight attendant. Icelandair CEO Bogi Nils Bogason also stated in an interview with the media that we hope that when the market begins to recover, we can quickly expand the size of Icelandair’s crew and provide employment opportunities for those affected. In fact, Iceland is not the only airline affected. Many airlines, including United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, have been affected by the epidemic and have adopted policies such as issuing unpaid leave notices to half of their employees, warning that layoffs will be inevitable, and applying for government assistance to ensure that the airlines can survive smoothly. bottleneck period during the epidemic. Affected by the epidemic, not only airlines, but other industries have also been significantly affected. Many small and medium-sized enterprises have been unable to survive the difficulties and temporarily closed down. We hope that with the mutual support of many enterprises and the help of the government, we can successfully overcome the difficulties.