CityJet is starting a consultation process about making redundancies across its Ireland and UK operations, and has said that up to 276 employees could be let go.
CityJet, which flies routes on behalf of a number of airlines including Aer Lingus, currently has 1,175 staff members, over 410 of which are based in Dublin.
Examinership
An interim examiner was appointed to the Dublin-based regional airline by the High Court in April.
CityJet sought court protection from its creditors as a result of financial difficulties being exacerbated by its fleet being grounded due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The examinership process involves a full review of the firm to ensure that it can be restructured to be sustainable in the long term. According to The Irish Times, a spokesperson said that this includes examining the "current shape and size of the company, the current and potential business opportunities and the cost base and structures required to deliver a successful future".
Cityjet redundancies are expected to impact administration, flying and engineering support staff.
The company is also reportedly engaged in processes that affect most of its European bases to "right size its operation to supper the smaller scale of flying now required".
"A Sad Time"
The Irish Times quotes Cityjet executive chairman Pat Byrne as saying, "CityJet has operated from Dublin for almost 27 years, so this is a sad time for us as we must react to market conditions and enter into an enforced downsizing of our core infrastructure.
"CityJet is made up of hundreds of dedicated people with extraordinary skills, and it is sincerely regrettable that we now must prepare to lose the skills and services of so many of our loyal and excellent colleagues.
"Our priority is to put CityJet back on a stable footing during this examinership process, and I sincerely expect that a stronger CityJet will emerge, allowing us to return to growth in the future."
It is understood by The Irish Times that CityJet's headquarters will remain in Dublin.
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