As a result of COVID-19, demand for air travel is expected to be significantly affected during the remainder of 2020 and it will take some years before demand returns to the levels experienced before the outbreak. Consequently, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) needs to adapt the business to a lower-demand environment, so the Scandinavian carrier will initiate processes to reduce the size of its future workforce by up to 5,000 full-time positions.
Currently, SAS is only operating a very limited domestic network in Norway and Sweden. Given the current restrictions, SAS expects limited activity in the important summer season. The potential reduction of the workforce by up to 5,000 full-time positions will be split with approximately 1,900 full-time positions in Sweden, 1,300 in Norway and 1,700 in Denmark. The processes will be implemented in accordance with the labor law practices in each respective country. During this process, SAS will actively engage with its unions and other stakeholders to seek solutions to reduce the number of actual layoffs across the group, as well as other productivity enhancements.
