July, 2020

• 9 July

  South African Airways unions accept severance packages

  

  Bloomberg South African Airways (SAA) cleared another hurdle needed to ensure the state-owned carrier’s survival when most labor groups agreed to sweetened severance packages for retrenched workers. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and the South African Airways Cabin Crew Association, which were fiercely opposed to plans to cut the workforce to 1,000 staff from about 4,700, agreed ...

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• 9 July

  United Airlines says 36,000 jobs at risk once US aid ends

  

  Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings Inc notified 36,000 employees, or 45% of its US workforce, that their jobs are at risk after federal payroll aid expires at the end of September. The final layoff tally hasn’t been finalised and may be smaller as workers weigh offers to leave voluntarily, United told employees. The planned furloughs include about 15,000 flight attendants, 11,000 ...

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• 9 July

  Lufthansa starts cutting jobs, reducing its fleet

  Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG will cut 20% of managerial positions and accept no more than 80 planes from its current order book as it slashes spending to be able to repay as much as $10.1 billion in government aid. The German national carrier will also eliminate 1,000 administrative positions in a second round of cost cutting amid a slump in ...

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• 9 July

  Kenya Air pilots offer going on unpaid leave

  Bloomberg Kenya Airways pilots warned the carrier against cutting jobs and offered to go on unpaid leave to help mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the East African airline. The aviators will consider voluntary breaks only if it serves “to secure jobs” and cushion the airline “from further effects of the pandemic,” the Kenya Airlines Pilots Association said ...

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• 9 July

  Australia suspending Hong Kong extradition agreement

  

  Bloomberg Australia is suspending its extradition agreement with Hong Kong and will give skilled migrants from the city five-year visas with a pathway to permanent residence, after China imposed sweeping national security legislation on the financial hub. “Our decision to suspend the extradition agreement with Hong Kong represents an acknowledgment of the fundamental change of circumstances in relation to Hong ...

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• 9 July

  Croatia, Bulgaria step closer to joining euro

  

  Bloomberg Croatia and Bulgaria are set for approval to join the waiting room to adopt the euro in what would be the first step toward expanding the currency union since 2015. The decision to allow the two eastern European countries into what’s known as ERM-2 is likely to be taken by euro-region finance ministers meeting on Thursday and on Friday, ...

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• 9 July

  Serb leader vows to quell protests

  

  Bloomberg Serbia’s president denounced violent protests against a proposal to reinstate one of Europe’s strictest lockdown protocols and pledged to restore order as he flew to Paris ahead of European Union-brokered talks on mending ties with Kosovo. Dozens of people have been hurt over two days of clashes between police and anti-government demonstrators in the biggest outbreak of violence against ...

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• 9 July

  Thai PM mulls cabinet reshuffle amid ‘crisis’

  

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha confirmed talks on a cabinet reshuffle to begin after the three ministers quit Thailand’s biggest ruling party. “We’re facing an economic crisis. We have to continue working,” Prayuth said at a briefing on Thursday. “I ask you trust in the system I created. No matter who comes or goes, they’ll have follow my rules.” The ...

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• 9 July

  Going back is not an option for Venezuelan students in US

  

  Bloomberg New US immigration rules have sent students from Venezuela into a panic about returning to a homeland in crisis. Christian Garcia, who won a grant to finish high school in Germany and now studies international political economy at the College of Idaho, says he is considering seeking political asylum or an internship in order to stay in the US ...

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• 9 July

  Banks with ‘shattered’ business models warned by Japan’s FSA

  

  Bloomberg Japan’s financial regulator is running out of patience with regional banks that are struggling to adapt to an increasingly grim business environment. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) has targeted some local lenders for “intensive dialogue,” which could lead to regulatory action if they fail to convince it of their viability, Commissioner Toshihide Endo said. He hinted at the need ...

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