Italy's Alitalia has said it plans to cut 2,700 jobs as part of a three-year rescue plan to drag it out of the red and make it fit for a much-desired merger with Air France and KLM.
The state-controlled airline said after a day-long board meeting it expected to post an operating loss of €410 million ($480 million) in 2003 - against a €118 million loss last year - but would reach "full economic balance" from 2005.
It also said it planned to invest about €1.2 billion over the next three years to complete the renewal of its fleet, begun in 2001, and for other purposes.
"(The plan aims for) an operating result that after a loss this year of about €410 million will reach substantial balance in 2004 and will allow full economic balance from 2005," Alitalia said in a statement.
Analysts said the measures were positive, but all would hinge on whether the company managed to push them through in the face of expected union opposition.
The company said it would cut 1,500 jobs and outsource 1,200 more, but did not specify how it would carry out the cuts to its 21,300-strong workforce. It said only that the losses would not be in "front line flight and ground operations".