Etihad warns pilots of immediate job cuts as pandemic crisis continues

Etihad warns pilots of immediate job cuts as pandemic crisis continues

DUBAI- Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways has warned pilots of immediate compulsory layoffs this week as demand for air travel fails to recover as quickly as expected from the coronavirus crisis.The warning in a letter to pilots, seen by Reuters, comes a day after the state airline said it was pushing on with plans to shrink to a mid-sized carrier. "The hard reality is that, despite all hopes, our industry is simply not recovering quick enough and we will continue to be a much smaller airline for some time," pilots were told in an email distributed on Monday."Based on all these factors, it has become clear that we have no choice but to further reduce our workforce."An Etihad spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.Etihad employed nearly 2,000