Brussels Airlines management and unions reach an agreement on the restructuring

The management and unions of Brussels Airlines have reached an agreement in principle on the restructuring announced last month, the three trade unions and management said on Wednesday.

The number of layoffs is not yet known. The airline had earlier announced the loss of up to 1,000 jobs (a quarter of its workforce of 4,200), a measure necessary to guarantee the competitiveness of Brussels Airlines, says management.

“After six weeks of long and intense negotiations, the management and the unions have concluded a memorandum of understanding on a social plan due to the reduction in the size of the fleet, as well as on a new structure of remuneration and an adaptation of the flight crew rosters“, CNE/ACV Puls, Setca/BBTK and CGSLB unions write in a common press release.

“We are well aware that all this will profoundly transform the company, but we have been able to obtain several guarantees which will allow us to preserve a working environment in which the staff can continue to work in acceptable conditions“, the unions added.

The details of the draft protocol and the associated collective labour agreements are still unknown, but they will be presented to the staff very soon.