Norwegian has decided to make 123 redundancies among its staff at Copenhagen Airport, the airline confirmed after concluding talks with the unions representing those affected. The cuts hit 53 pilots and 70 cabin crew, Danish media outlet Finans reported, according to Politiken, Berlingske and Ekstra Bladet.
The redundancies will be carried out in several rounds. Most of the employees will leave at the end of January next year, while the rest will be let go ten months later.
"It's a sad day for Norwegian, and I am incredibly affected on behalf of the affected employees," Sara Neergaard, Norwegian's country manager in Denmark, told Finans. "But there is no other way. The redundancies are happening out of necessity."
A week before the announcement, industry outlet Check-in.dk reported that 125 employees at the company's base in the Danish capital risked losing their jobs. Norwegian is reducing the number of aircraft based in Copenhagen in the summer season from 16 to 14. According to the airline, the reason is the big difference in traffic volumes from Copenhagen between summer and winter.
In the summer high season, 16 aircraft are needed, while the winter need is only 10.
The company is not cutting the number of summer departures from Copenhagen. Some of the summer routes will instead be flown by aircraft based in Spain.
According to Copenhagen Airport's latest accounts, Norwegian was the second-largest airline at the airport last year measured by share of total passenger numbers. SAS carried 38 percent of travellers, while Norwegian's share was 15 percent. Ryanair came third with nine percent.
With 16 aircraft, Copenhagen has until now been Norwegian's second-largest base, surpassed only by its home base in Oslo. The company flew to 77 destinations from Copenhagen last year.