EN
The iconic German airline group, Lufthansa, has just announced a massive restructuring plan that will shake up the global aviation industry: cutting about 4,000 jobs between now and 2030. Notably, this decision was made in the context of extremely high demand for air travel, with profits forecast to "increase sharply" by the end of this decade, showing a profound strategic shift, not only because of financial difficulties.
The reasons are said to be due to artificial intelligence (AI), digitalization and the consolidation of member firms.
According to an official announcement at an investor and analyst meeting in Munich, Lufthansa confirmed that the main reason behind this large-scale staff reduction is the extensive impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), digitalization and the consolidation of member airlines in the group. This plan is part of an overall strategy to streamline the apparatus and increase operational efficiency in all business areas.
Lufthansa stressed that “the profound changes brought about by digitalization and artificial intelligence” will help the group significantly eliminate manual processes and repetitive administrative tasks. The majority of the 4,000 affected workers will be in Germany, and will be mainly administrative and office workers rather than direct operational personnel such as pilots or flight attendants. This clearly reflects a global trend: AI is starting to replace paperwork, data processing and internal management, freeing up resources for core activities with higher added value.
Lufthansa is currently accelerating the integration and consolidation of its key member airlines, including Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways. This integration requires a comprehensive review to eliminate duplication of work that will no longer be needed in the future, thereby optimizing the organizational and management structure.
The drastic cuts come amid a paradoxical economic environment for the group. Lufthansa executives say demand for air travel is high, while flight availability remains limited due to an industry-wide shortage of aircraft and engines. This supply-demand tension has kept Lufthansa's flights fully booked, directly contributing to strong revenue growth.
The company said it is reviewing to eliminate duplicate work that is no longer needed in the future.
This fact reinforces the management’s belief in the lean strategy: despite cutting 4,000 jobs, Lufthansa still forecasts a “strong increase” in profits by the end of the decade. This is a clear demonstration of the group’s shift to a high-tech performance-based business model, where the productivity of each remaining employee is amplified by digitalization and AI tools.
Previously, with nearly 102,000 employees and a revenue of 37.6 billion euros (about 44 billion USD) in 2024, Lufthansa had struggled to cut costs and deal with labor challenges, even abandoning many ambitious profit targets in previous years. This new plan is seen as a decisive turning point, showing a strong commitment from the leadership to overcome past operational weaknesses.
In a statement, Lufthansa stressed that “the profound changes brought about by digitalization and artificial intelligence” will help the group improve efficiency across all business areas.
Along with the restructuring of personnel, Lufthansa is also preparing to implement the largest fleet modernization program in the history of the group. This is a sign that the staff reduction is not a downsizing strategy, but a step to prepare for future breakthrough growth.
According to the plan, Lufthansa will add more than 230 new aircraft before 2030, including about 100 modern long-haul aircraft, helping to improve service quality and increase transport capacity. Heavy investment in new flight technology, combined with a streamlined administrative apparatus thanks to AI, will help Lufthansa consolidate its leading position in the European and global aviation market, while achieving the set profit growth target. This strategy of Lufthansa is posing a big question for the entire aviation industry and other sectors: how to balance the development of breakthrough technology and the problem of human employment in the AI era.
