KLM Cuts 250 Office Jobs to Boost Profitability

DALLAS — KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) announced today that it would cut 250 workers in non-operational roles. 

This move follows the airline’s announcement in October that it would take structural measures to improve its financial and operational performance. Ultimately, the Dutch flag carrier expects the measures to save KL €450 million (US$469 million).

“Our focus is 100% on laying a solid foundation for a healthy and future-proof KLM,” said Marjan Rintel, KLM President & CEO. “It is crucial for our future to structurally lower costs, which involves making painful choices. One of these measures is reducing the number of non-operational jobs, where we will try to avoid forced layoffs, although we cannot rule this out in advance. We will approach this process with the utmost care, in close consultation with the Works Council. For operational jobs and positions that are difficult to fill in the current labor market, we will continue to recruit to maintain our operational capacity as much as possible.”

In addition to these measures, KL has announced that it will postpone the construction of a new headquarters and delay investment in two buildings at Engineering & Maintenance. Measures are also in place across the company to increase productivity by at least 5% and boost profitability. 

Moreover, KL is reconsidering and postponing certain investments and considering divesting or discontinuing activities that do not directly contribute to its operations. 

Meanwhile, KL and the Dutch Airline Pilots Association VNV have reached a preliminary agreement on temporary measures to increase pilot availability. This will ensure that the schedule for European and intercontinental destinations for the upcoming summer and winter seasons can go as planned.

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