Malaysia Airlines To Cut 6,000 Jobs

The beleaguered carrier is to cut around a third of its workforce as part of a restructure.

Malaysia Airlines — the country's loss-making national carrier — is set to cut 30% of its entire workforce and de-list as part of a restructure that will cost $1.9 billion, Reuters has reported.

Bazuki Muhammad / Reuters

The airline's majority investor, sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, said it will slash staff by 6,000 to 14,000 as part of a massive overhaul aimed at stopping the long-term losses, which have been exacerbated by two of the biggest aviation disasters of the year.

The overhaul, which will also see Malaysia Airlines de-listed from the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange by the end of the year, is intended to make the carrier profitable within three years, Khazanah said.

Announcing its sixth quarterly loss yesterday, the airline said the full financial impact of the disasters will only be seen in the second half of this year, Bloomberg reported.

In March of this year, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared while carrying 239 people. It has still not been found.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

In July, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over conflict-ridden eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

Maxim Zmeyev / Reuters