Mass layoffs hit PH aviation industry: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the ground handling company of Cebu Pacific to lay off more than 1,000 employees, or a quarter of its workforce, in the single-largest retrenchment in the local aviation industry due to the health crisis.
1Aviation Groundhandling Services Corp. on Thursday said the move was part of “drastic measures to ensure its survival” as the pandemic continued to pummel the air travel business.
“With a heavy heart, we are left with no other recourse but to let go of 25 percent of our total workforce,” the company said in a statement. The workers’ last day will be on July 20.
In April, 1Aviation laid off 400 newly hired workers, including check-in and boarding gate agents and baggage handlers, following the Luzon lockdown.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) laid off 300 ground staff last February, while Cebu Pacific retrenched almost 190 employees last March. AirAsia Philippines said it would lay off about 260 employees, including cabin crew, by the end of June.
Aviation ground handling, whose services include baggage sorting and aircraft towing, is a key sector in the airline business.
Cebu Pacific is the biggest client and also a part owner of 1Aviation, which is controlled by businessman Jefferson Cheng’s Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc.
Reduction in flights
The layoffs followed the dramatic reduction in the number of flights, which was due to weak demand and strict government regulations on air travel as COVID-19 cases around the country continued to rise.
The retrenchment will add to rising unemployment as the economy is poised to enter a recession.
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