Emirates lays off pilots, cabin crew, plans thousands more job cuts: Sources

DUBAI: Emirates, one of the world’s biggest long-haul airlines, laid off more pilots and cabin crew on Tuesday as it manages a cash crunch caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, and plans thousands of additional job cuts, five company sources said.

Aviation is one of the industries worst hit by the outbreak, with airlines forced to lay off staff and seek government bailouts.

More redundancies were expected at Emirates this week including both Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 pilots, the sources said on the condition of anonymity.

The workforce of 4,300 pilots and nearly 22,000 cabin crew could shrink by almost a third from its pre-coronavirus levels, three of the sources said.