27.11.2020

Hundreds of CPH employees to begin job sharing

Due to its current dire financial situation with traffic currently at less than 10 per cent of normal levels, Copenhagen Airports (CPH) has just completed negotiations for its second cost-cutting round in only three months. As a result, a total of nearly 380 employees will begin job sharing. Furthermore, and following constructive negotiations and a very strong commitment from union representatives and the staff to bringing own initiatives and mitigating measures into play, the parties have managed to reduce the number of redundancies to a figure corresponding to 60 full-time positions. Overall, the negotiations identified cost savings equivalent to about 325 full-time positions. 

The persistent and quite significant lack of activity and of passengers in the terminals at Copenhagen Airport has made further cost savings necessary. In its third-quarter interim report released earlier this month, CPH announced that due to the coronavirus crisis, it needed to identify annual cost savings corresponding to about 325 full-time positions.

Since then, union representatives and CPH management have negotiated the practical implementation of the cost savings that were announced to the employees earlier today. As a result of the cost savings, close to 380 employees will begin job sharing (equivalent to the effect of 147 full-time positions). The arrangement entails that the employees involved will keep their jobs, but will be working on reduced hours and pay. At the same time, constructive talks between union representatives and CPH management produced, among other things, an increased focus on training initiatives which include reimbursement of pay.

HR Director Kirstine Bergenholz describes the negotiations as very constructive. For example, union representatives at the airport suggested a number of mitigating measures that contributed to reducing the number of redundancies.

“I’d like to thank both the union representatives and the employees for showing such flexibility in what is a very difficult period for the airport. It’s not been long since we last had to reduce our costs and let go a large number of highly skilled staff, so I really appreciate that so many of our employees have shown great flexibility. It means that we’ll be able to reduce the number considerably although we can’t avoid redundancies altogether,” says Bergenholz.

She also emphasises that it is a sad day for everybody at CPH because employees have lost their jobs. Overall, CPH announced redundancies today equivalent to about 60 full-time positions, which will affect both operational and administrative functions.

Passenger numbers at Copenhagen Airport have dropped sharply in recent months due to the amended travel guidelines, according to which the authorities advise against all unnecessary travel to most parts of the world. Currently, passenger traffic at CPH is at less than 10 per cent of normal levels.