Italian media earlier reported that merger talks with Lufthansa had stalled after Italian authorities rejected Lufthansa’s suggestions to adjust the price of a 41% stake in Alitalia’s successor ITA Airways.
The former Italian flag carrier Alitalia has started the procedures for the collective dismissal of the 2,059 employees remaining in the companyafter previous dismissals, as communicated by the airline’s administrators to the unions.
The move comes at a time when the successor to Alitalia, ITA Airwaysfaces obstacles in its merger plans with the German Lufthansa, approved last July by the EU on the understanding that it did not violate antitrust rules.
Lufthansa wants to continue negotiating
Lufthansa argues that the Italian airline, owned by the Government, would lose value due to its poor results in the fourth quarter of the year. Lufthansa stated that it would abide by the terms of the 2023 contract for its investment in ITA Airways, adding that it “had signed the necessary corrective measures package within the agreed timeframe.”
Meanwhile, Alitaliawhich is under special administration measures and moving towards final liquidation, plans dismiss the employees who remain until the end of the year.
The permanent layoffs include more than 1,100 flight attendants and 82 pilots and will become effective in Januaryaccording to a letter sent last week by management to the airline’s unions.
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