VI
EN
Germany's iconic airline group, Lufthansa, has just announced a massive restructuring plan that is shaking the global aviation industry: cutting approximately 4,000 jobs between now and 2030. Significantly, this decision comes amidst extremely high demand for air travel and projected strong profit growth by the end of the decade, indicating a profound strategic shift, not solely driven by financial difficulties.
The reasons are believed to be artificial intelligence (AI), digitalization, and the consolidation of member companies.
According to an official announcement at a meeting with investors and analysts in Munich, Lufthansa confirmed that the primary reason behind this large-scale job cut is the far-reaching impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), digitalization, and the consolidation of member airlines within the group. This plan is part of an overall strategy to streamline operations and enhance efficiency across all business areas.
Lufthansa emphasized that "the far-reaching 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 located in Germany, primarily in administrative and office roles rather than operational personnel such as pilots or flight attendants. This clearly reflects a global trend: AI is beginning to replace paperwork, data processing, and internal management tasks, freeing up resources for core activities that deliver higher added value.
Currently, Lufthansa is accelerating the integration and consolidation of its key member airlines, including Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and ITA Airways. This consolidation requires a comprehensive review to eliminate redundant and unnecessary tasks, thereby optimizing the organizational structure and management.
The drastic staff cuts are taking place against a rather paradoxical economic backdrop for the corporation. Lufthansa leaders say that demand for air travel is very high, while the supply of flights remains limited due to shortages of aircraft and engines across the industry. This supply-demand imbalance has resulted in consistently full flights for Lufthansa, directly contributing to strong revenue growth.
The company said it is reviewing and eliminating redundant tasks that will no longer be necessary in the future.
This fact reinforces the leadership's belief in the lean strategy: despite cutting 4,000 jobs, Lufthansa still forecasts "strong profit growth" by the end of this decade. This is clear evidence that the group is shifting towards a high-performance, technology-driven business model, where the productivity of each remaining employee is amplified by digital tools and AI.
Previously, with nearly 102,000 employees and projected revenues of €37.6 billion (approximately $44 billion) in 2024, Lufthansa had struggled to cut costs and address labor challenges, even having to abandon ambitious profit targets in previous years. This new plan is seen as a decisive turning point, demonstrating the management's strong commitment to overcoming past operational inefficiencies.
In its statement, Lufthansa emphasized that “the profound changes brought about by digitalization and artificial intelligence” will help the group improve efficiency across all areas of its business.
Alongside the personnel restructuring, Lufthansa is also preparing to implement the largest fleet modernization program in the group's history. This is a sign that the staff reductions are not a downsizing strategy, but rather a preparation for significant future growth.
According to plan, Lufthansa will add more than 230 new aircraft before 2030, including around 100 modern long-haul aircraft, to improve service quality and increase transport capacity. This significant investment in new flight technology, combined with a streamlined administrative system powered by AI, will help Lufthansa consolidate its leading position in the European and global aviation markets, while achieving its profit growth targets. This strategy by Lufthansa raises a major question for the entire aviation industry and other sectors: how to balance disruptive technological development with the issue of human employment in the AI era.
