The carrier Aer Lingus has now admitted that it needs more voluntary redundancies. They went on to say that if they do not get the redundancies that they need, then more cuts will have to be made but by force. The Irish carrier, which is currently in talks with unions, said that it has been able to save €97 million under its Transformation Plan. This does include €74 million on staff costs and €23 million in other areas.

Some experts are saying that Aer Lingus could be looking to get rid of about one fifth of its workers. The carrier went on to tell its staff that, while the preference will be for such redundancies to be voluntary, compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out. These alternative means will include further reductions in capacity resulting from an uneconomic cost base. This will in turn lead to additional redundancies beyond those included in the plan.

The talks with the unions are due to conclude as of November 30^th. Just earlier this month, Aer Lingus’ Q3 reports showed a 9.7 percent fall in revenue. Aer Lingus went on to say that cash flow since the end of December 2008 has fallen 38.8 percent to €399.9 million by the end of September. This drop was due in part to the €107 million restructuring costs and final payment for the two new A330 aircrafts.

Of course, as may people already know, Aer Iingus is not the only airline that is struggling in this economy. Other airlines like Japan Airlines and British Airways are also having problems. In fact, British Airways has been in deep union talks for quite some time. Right now they are waiting on the results of a strike ballot.