{"id":656809,"date":"2026-08-26T04:14:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T04:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/656809\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T04:14:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T04:14:36","slug":"aer-lingus-and-pilots-end-job-cuts-talks-abruptly-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/656809\/","title":{"rendered":"Aer Lingus and pilots end job cuts talks abruptly \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aer Lingus<\/a> and its pilots abruptly ended talks on jobs cuts after splitting over the involvement of a trade union body representing workers across the Irish carrier\u2019s owner, International Airlines Group <\/a>(IAG).<\/p>\n

The Irish company opposes the IAG European Works Council\u2019s argument that the airline\u2019s parent should consult it on Aer Lingus\u2019s plans to cut 500 jobs \u2013 70 pilots, 140 cabin crew and 290 head office staff \u2013 before local talks begin.<\/p>\n

Talks between Aer Lingus and the Irish Airline Pilots\u2019 Association<\/a> (Ialpa) ended after 12 minutes last week in a dispute over the works council\u2019s intervention, correspondence between the sides shows.<\/p>\n

Aer Lingus branded the work council\u2019s move \u201ca stunt\u201d, according to a notice from Ialpa to members. The union also tells the airline that it does not accept its position in a letter to management.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no reason for the company not to continue the meeting,\u201d the union\u2019s note to members states.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is particularly disappointing that, having sought engagement with Ialpa, the company elected to end the meeting before any meaningful discussion could take place.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Aer Lingus executives fastening their seat belts for a bumpy ride aheadOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Aer Lingus maintains that the works council has no role as the airline\u2019s proposals are not transnational and affect only the company\u2019s Irish-based staff.<\/p>\n

Labour law obliges the airline to consult with Irish-based workers\u2019 representatives on the proposed job cuts, Aer Lingus points out in a letter to Ialpa.<\/p>\n

That letter indicates that Ialpa wanted to discuss the jobs cuts without prejudice to any procedure involving the works council.<\/p>\n

\"\"How many new homes does Ireland really need? <\/p>\n

But the airline argues there is \u201cno merit\u201d in pausing statutory consultations and in meeting Ialpa \u201coutside\u201d that process on the job cuts proposals \u201cwithout prejudice to an unspecified legal process\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ialpa\u2019s letter states that Aer Lingus\u2019s legal obligations to consult with staff do not displace its obligations under collective agreements with the pilot\u2019s union.<\/p>\n

Any consultation process should be capable of addressing both sets of obligations, the union adds.<\/p>\n

Ialpa maintains that it is \u201cready and willing to engage constructively\u201d with management.<\/p>\n

Both sides are seeking to meet in coming days.<\/p>\n

Aer Lingus has already begun consultations with unions F\u00f3rsa and Siptu on proposals to cut up to 290 jobs in its Dublin Airport head office, according to a source close to the talks.<\/p>\n

Neither union is understood to have raised the works council\u2019s request to consult with IAG ahead of any Irish negotiations. <\/p>\n

Aer Lingus plans to cut up to 500 jobs to reduce costs so it can increase margins, the difference between day-to-day spending and revenue, to 12 to 15 per cent, to meet IAG targets.<\/p>\n

The carrier lost \u20ac34 million in the first half of the year as costs mounted. However, it earned \u20ac69 million in the three months to June and expects to make a profit this year.<\/p>\n

Works councils bring together representatives of staff and management in multinational businesses in the European Union (EU) to discuss transnational issues, including restructuring across states in the bloc and the European Economic Area. They cannot orchestrate industrial action.<\/p>\n

Spanish-domiciled IAG\u2019s other airlines include Iberia and Vueling, along with British Airways in the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aer Lingus and its pilots abruptly ended talks on jobs cuts after splitting over the involvement of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[2442,79,18,19,96683,17,100291],"class_list":["post-656809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-aer-lingus","tag-business","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-international-airlines-group","tag-ireland","tag-irish-air-line-pilots-association"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117159872496290251","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}