"We have almost completely transformed the company in record time. It is a first yet crucial step" rejoiced SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson at a press conference on November 19, announcing that the 8 pilots and flight attendants’ unions had signed the agreement he had presented as the 'last resort' before bankruptcy. Employees were asked to make major concessions on pay, pensions and productivity. The unions concerned are happy that they were able to save jobs but angry at the way negotiations were handled. They also criticized the way the different governments behaved. (Ref. 120688)
The agreement will apply for 3 years starting on December 1, 2012.
A demanding agreement with broad media coverage. In early November, the airline was about to go bankrupt. The management presented a last-hope plan providing for significant pay cuts and a restructuring of the group bringing total staff from 15,000 down to 9,000 people. Here are the key points:
- Selling Widerøe, the local company.
- Bringing all administrative services in Stockholm, thus destroying 800 jobs.
- Selling the call center and handling center which used to gather around 5,000 employees.
- Selling buildings close to the Copenhagen and Oslo airports.
It also provided for the renegotiation of the collective agreement for pilots and flight attendants and cuts to retirement costs, a prerequisite for the banks to grant a loan to keep the company from going bankrupt.
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