TOKYO - Japan Airlines outlined restructuring plans Tuesday that include cutting 30 per cent of its global workforce and additional financing to keep flying after filing for bankruptcy protection in January.
Japan Airlines Corp. submitted the plans to the Tokyo District Court, the company said in a statement.
The plans, in the works over recent months, also includes selling off subsidiaries and dropping unprofitable domestic and international routes.
The announcement culminates years of difficulty for Japan's flagship carrier, battered by safety lapses, ballooning pension payments and the need to streamline its flight routes amid intensifying global competition.
The plan is being orchestrated as a government-backed bailout, under a group called the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan.
Some 16,000 jobs will be cut, although the job reductions will be partly the result of selling off subsidiaries, according to JAL.
The plan also features a 520 billion yen (US$6.2 billion) debt waiver mainly from financial institutions and a 350 billion yen ($4.2 billion) investment in JAL by ETIC, the company said.
The Japanese government and JAL officials are hopeful that the slimmed down carrier can return to profitability through its turnaround plan, including possibilities such as going into the low-cost carrier business.
