20% staff cut may see 800 LOT workers lose their jobs

The management of LOT Polish Airlines has announced plans to lay off up to 808 employees, or 20% of the company's workforce. LOT currently employs 4,300 people, and according to preliminary estimates, the lay-offs will affect 97 pilots, 90 cabin crew, 175 mechanics, and 446 administrative personnel. While insisting that 800 was the maximum number of planned redundancies, LOT press spokesman Leszek Chorzewski said, "An exact figure for the lay-offs will be announced at the end of October." In another cost-cutting move, LOT is planning to reduce salaries by an average of 20%, an idea that is strongly opposed by the company's trade unions, which would prefer to see employment cuts rather than salary reductions. In related news, LOT's management has asked the government to extend insurance guarantees until the end of the second quarter of next year. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B3; Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 3) A.Z.