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TAP’s restructuring plan has not yet been presented to the European Commission and has not even been approved by the company’s bodies, but some figures are already known. The company management met this Friday with the unions and opened the veil to a plan that will be very hard on the labor side with layoffs, salary cuts – the salary mass will be reduced by 25% – and the revision of the company agreement. It was also noted that the plan predicts that the company will have a balance between costs and income in 2023.
TAP also alerted workers to a “colossal” drop in revenues and warned that in the coming years it will be operating between 30% and 50% of the capacity it had at the end of last year.
The strategy designed by the management, together with the BCG consultancy, foresees a cut of between 20% and 30% in personnel costs, in line with what other companies in the sector have been doing. The impact of this cost reduction on the universe of workers is not yet closed and will depend a lot on whether or not you adhere to the proposed cuts that include wages, bonuses, compensation for working after hours and reduction of hours worked, with the reduction correspondent. remuneration. The scene of collective redundancies is not far away.
TAP confirmed last night that it will not extend its adherence to the extraordinary support regime for the progressive recovery in December, after having been the main beneficiary of the simplified dismissal mechanism and its successors since April. This decision, indicates the company, is part of the process of presenting the Restructuring Plan to the European Commission. The rules of this support for the maintenance of employment prevent adhered companies from firing up to 60 days after having benefited from Social Security support in financing the wage costs of partially or totally unemployed workers.
Each union was informed of the impact of the restructuring on its members, without being given a general overview, but if we add the reductions in effective workers reported to cabin crew, ground personnel and pilots, we already reach a figure of 2000 workers, representing around 24% of the 8,500 current employees. But some speak of 3000.
Among the indications that have been given to the unions is a 25% cut in the wage bill that will seek to safeguard the lowest wages. In the case of the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel, the dismissal of 750 effective crew members was announced, in addition to the more than 1000 fixed-term contracts that will not be renewed, of which more than 600 have already been terminated while the rest will be rescinded in April. .
The SNPVAC president told the Observer that these cuts to some 1,800 jobs represent more than half the total number of cabin crew, currently numbering around 3,000. Henrique Louro Maetins admitted that he was shocked by the figures released by the administration, not so much by the expected salary cuts, but by the magnitude of the layoffs. And he adds that no explanation has been given about the criteria for choosing who will leave or how they will leave.
TAP’s restructuring plan also provides for the layoff of 750 land workers and a 25% reduction in wages, except for the lowest wages, according to a joint statement from seven unions, released on Saturday. “Regarding ground staff, a reduction of 450 M&E workers, plus 300 headquarters workers, that is, a total of 750 ground workers,” reads the statement signed by the Economists Union (SE) , Union of Engineers (SERS), Union of Accountants (SICONT), Union of Metallurgical and Related Industries (SIMA), National Union of Civil Aviation Workers (SINTAC), Union of Commercial Aviation Personnel (SQAC) and Union of Technicians Airport Handling (STHA).
The platform of unions representing TAP workers also mentioned that they had been informed of the global reduction of 3,000 employees, through voluntary measures, such as termination by mutual agreement, long-term unpaid leave, part-time work and others. . mechanisms still under analysis.
The unions recalled that, in addition to this figure, “collective redundancies should be added in the necessary dimension to reach the figure of 3,000 workers” and “some 1,600 fixed-term workers who from April 2020 to March 2021 have not renewed or will renew. ” , which totals a reduction of “4,600 in a universe of almost 11,000 workers in January 2020”. Currently, TAP will have a universe of around 8,500 employees throughout the group, so the cuts indicated by the unions represent around 35% of the total, not counting the workers who will not see renewed contracts.
Regarding the possibility of resorting to the pre-reforms as a mechanism to help achieve solutions, the leadership indicated at this meeting that “so far there is no openness on the part of the Government to consider this solution.”
The information released by the Civil Aviation Pilots Union reveals that the plan contemplates a reduction of 500 pilots according to information cited by the Lusa agency, which represents 34% of the approximately 1,468 that the company will currently have. The plan also provides for a 25% reduction in the salaries of these professionals, who are the highest paid at TAP. Questioned by union leaders, the company did not clarify the criteria for the dismissals.
TAP: union says restructuring plan foresees layoff of 500 workers
SITAVA (Union of Aviation and Airport Workers) considers, in a statement, that “the figures that are presented, and about which much is said in the media, are, for us, perfectly stupid, provocative and unrealistic numbers” . SITAVA also criticized the “irresponsible way in which [CA e CE] they talk about the destruction of jobs “, which he considers that” being taken seriously “would lead to the destruction of the company.
In a communication to the workers, the TAP management reveals that it will propose a package of voluntary measures, which will include layoffs by mutual agreement, long-term unpaid leave and part-time work, and that allows transversal wage cuts and layoffs. However, scenarios such as the suspension of the payment of some compensation supplements, transversal salary cuts, the guarantee of a minimum amount that ensures the protection of the lowest wages, and the possibility of adapting the number of workers to an operation that in the Next years will also be discussed. years will be reduced between 30% and 50%, thus returning to values lived for more than a decade ”.
The company warns of a drop in revenue that over the next few years “will be colossal and estimated at several billion euros.” And I did that I would have to implement a strong cost reduction. Together with our suppliers and service providers, we are making substantial adjustments in the relationship with lessors and other providers that will allow TAP to have economic benefits of around 1.5 billion euros by 2025.
However, this effort to reduce costs will not be enough, so we will also have to reduce labor costs to values that allow their viability.
In the meeting with the pilots, the intention to reinforce the number of Portuguese pilots by 15 was also mentioned. This company operates smaller aircraft, ATR and Embraers, which have a greater capacity to respond to the lower demand on medium-haul flights, in addition to the fact that these aircraft with up to 100 passengers can operate at lower costs and with fewer crew members.
The restructuring plan must be delivered to the European Commission before December 10, after the use of Portugal to the Community aid and rescue scheme. The first part of this support was a state loan of 1.2 billion euros to cover short-term liquidity needs, an amount that will be spent this year. For 2021, the State Budgets foresee a public guarantee of 500 million euros for private financing, resources that will only be released when there is a green light for TAP’s restructuring and solvency plan.
During the week, the Minister of Infrastructure, Pedro Nuno Santos, must meet with the company’s unions.
Updated at 19hoo with statements from the SNPVAC president.
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