Thai Airways plans 1,500 job cuts this year

[BANGKOK] Troubled national airline Thai Airways International expects to return to profit earlier than expected in the fourth quarter, it said, aiming to cut 1,500 jobs this year under its newly approved restructuring plan.

The airline also said that it would shed more than a quarter of its full-time employees by 2018, the first major job cuts announcement since the plan was given the go-ahead last month.

Thai Airways had previously said that it aimed to cut costs and prioritise certain routes to return to profit as soon as the middle of next year.