The uptake of the voluntary measures implemented allows the airline company to reduce by 94% the number of employees to be notified for collective dismissal.

Today TAP notified 124 employees in the context of the start of the collective dismissal process resulting from the ongoing restructuring process of the airline.

This number went from 2.000 employees since the first estimate in February, which represents so far, a significant reduction (less 94%) of the initial number provided for in the Restructuring Plan, which is currently in the process of approval by the European Commission.

This sharp reduction in the number of employees identified for the redundancy process is the result of extraordinary efforts implemented so far, such as Temporary Emergency Agreements, voluntary measures with compensation higher than the legal requirements and applications to vacancies available at Portugália, among other measures.

According to Christine Ourmières-Widener, Executive President of TAP, “Our top priority has always been to promote and encourage voluntary measures with compensation higher than the legal requirements. We focused on running the process with dignity and respect for people, with all cases assessed on an individual basis. Overall, these extraordinary efforts have significantly reduced the initial downsizing target in the restructuring plan”.

The Restructuring Plan currently underway aims to adjust TAP's capacity and cost structure to the current operational reality and projections for the coming years. After 15 months since the start of the pandemic, the aviation industry is flying around 50% compared to 2019 levels, which has forced the various airlines to take strong restructuring measures globally, in a move to which TAP could not be an exception. The present macroeconomic framework also leads all projections to point to a particularly slow recovery in demand, with 2019 levels not expected to return before 2024/25, in an estimate that is still dependent on the future evolution of the pandemic and the effectiveness of vaccination.

Between February and June several phases of voluntary measures were actively promoted throughout the airline, as well as applications to vacancies available at Portugália. “Unfortunately, for all the job cuts caused by the pandemic, in the airline industry and other sectors, we must make a firm commitment to the restructuring plan. The survival and sustainable recovery of TAP depends on the effective implementation of the plan”, adds Christine Ourmières-Widener.

TAP's downsizing plan was shared with the organisation in December 2020 and started in February this year, with the signing of Emergency Agreements with all unions in the context of TAP's declaration as a Company in Difficult Economic Situation (SED), which was designed to be achieved preferably through voluntary measures.