Iberia has announced plans to lay off up to 996 employees, representing around 9.3% of its workforce.
The company formally launched the process on Thursday after setting up a negotiating committee and handing documentation to union representatives, officially starting the consultation period.
The plan would be based on voluntary departures and early retirement schemes as part of a social support programme, with no deferred redeployments currently planned.
Most of the potential job reductions would affect ground staff, where up to 753 positions could be cut.
This includes 305 roles in maintenance, 243 in ground operations and 205 in corporate departments.
The remaining 243 possible departures would come from flight crews, including 106 pilots and 137 cabin crew members.
According to industry outlet Preferente, representatives from several unions took part in the first negotiating meeting, including UGT, Sepla, CCOO, Stavla, Sitcpla, Citcp, Asetma and USO.
Iberia told unions the redundancy plan is based on organisational and production-related reasons. The consultation period will follow the usual timetable, lasting up to one month, with the airline aiming to reach an agreement before the end of March.
The negotiating committee was formed after unions themselves suggested exploring voluntary departures, taking advantage of the airline’s current financial position.
Iberia had already informed employee representatives on February 17 of its intention to launch a voluntary redundancy programme.
The move comes shortly after the company completed negotiations over collective labour agreements with its main employee groups – pilots, cabin crew and ground staff – with the latest agreement signed on February 13.
Luis Gallego, chief executive of IAG, Iberia’s parent company, said earlier this year that the airline believes there are grounds to carry out the plan as part of its long-term ‘Flight Plan 2030’ strategy.
According to Gallego, the objective is not to impose forced job cuts but to adapt the workforce to future needs through voluntary measures.
He also noted that the exact conditions and timeline for the departures are still subject to negotiation with unions.
