Air Malta workers were told yesterday 511 of them will be dismissed but at the end of a meeting with the company’s top brass they were none the wiser as to how many jobs from each section of the airline will be axed.

A statement issued by the airline quoted Air Malta chairman Louis Farrugia saying that to be viable the company had to reduce yearly costs by €30 million and increase revenue by the same amount.

The meeting, attended by hundreds of Air Malta workers, was addressed by Mr Farrugia and chief executive Peter Davies, who outlined the airline’s financial position and future prospects. The media was not invited.

The company statement quoted Mr Davies saying that unaudited accounts showed that the airline lost €36 million in the financial year ended March 31.

However, the statement made no reference to the number of job losses. According to the statement, Mr Davies announced a voluntary redundancy scheme and formal talks with the unions will start as early as next week.

Towards the end of the meeting, workers were also informed that the free flights that used to be issued to politicians, chairmen and board members, former and serving would be stopped with effect from July 1.

Workers who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity said they were told 511 would have to lose their job. They were told that the losses would hit all sections but no further details were given.

Workers said the voluntary redundancy scheme would open on August 1 and close on August 31 but the amount of money on offer was not disclosed.

They said the government was not guaranteeing alternative employment to those who would lose their job and if the number of employees who choose the redundancy scheme did not meet the airline’s target the company would adopt the last-in-first-out rule.

According to workers, management made it clear that no part of the company would be outsourced and the airline would operate a fleet of 10 aircraft.

An employee who has worked for 16 years with the airline said the meeting was characterised by a subdued atmosphere with “a few angry outbursts”.

He described a situation where employees were left in a daze after the meeting not knowing what hit them. “Although this meeting was intended to give us answers, we left without having our most important question answered: Will I still have my job?”

Mr Davies was quoted by the company statement as saying that the end of summer was the target by which time the key changes would have to be implemented.

The meeting was the first of its kind where employees had a direct opportunity to learn about the direction the new board of directors and management were taking.

Mr Davies announced the appointment of Philip Saunders as chief commercial officer. Mr Saunders has worked for Mr Davies before on other restructuring projects.

The chief executive also announced that a Maltese chief financial officer would be appointed to the airline on September 1.

Another five more professionals, Mr Davies was quoted as saying, specialised in project management and airline restructuring would be joining Air Malta and taking on the responsibility for information technology, revenue management, finance, engineering and cargo sections.

The team will be appointed on a temporary basis, specifically focused on accelerating the pace of change during these six months.

Mr Davies said the task of restructuring Air Malta was challenging and he appealed to all stakeholders to understand that unnecessary speculation would harm the process of change

The meeting was chaired by industrial lawyer Andrew Borg Cardona.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com-