Singapore Airlines doesn't plan to cut jobs for now

[SINGAPORE] Singapore Airlines will focus on recovering from the coronavirus outbreak and doesn't plan to cut jobs at the moment, the Sunday Times reported, citing the carrier's chief executive officer Goh Choon Phong.

Still, the airline will have to review possible job cuts, Mr Goh was quoted as saying in the report, without providing more details. Singapore Airlines has offered its staff voluntary unpaid leave and some have taken temporary posts outside the company after it slashed most of its flights due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Singapore Airlines and its SilkAir unit have restored some flights this month but are only operating at 6 per cent of capacity as the global spread of the virus wiped out travel demand. Carriers around the world are seeking funds, cutting jobs and deferring jet deliveries, while some have collapsed altogether.

The carrier is raising about S$8.80 billion through share and convertible bond sales. It has also cut salaries of its management team by as much as 30 per cent from April 1 and is in negotiations with aircraft manufacturers to adjust deliveries and payment schedules. The company reported its worst quarterly loss ever in the first three months of this year.

Shares of Singapore Airlines closed down S$0.05 or 1.1 per cent to S$4.33 on Friday.

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