LATAM Airlines set to fire at least 2,700 workers in Brazil: reports

BRASILIA (Reuters) – LATAM Airlines is poised to fire at least 2,700 workers in Brazil, including pilots, starting with a voluntary redundancy process slated to commence next week, O Globo and O Estado de S. Paulo newspapers reported on Saturday.

The layoffs are the latest in efforts to downsize Latin America’s largest airline, and follow failure of the company and its Brazil unions to reach agreement on a temporary reduction in hours and wages.

Before the novel coronavirus crisis, the airline had 43,000 workers worldwide, with most of them in Brazil and Chile.

LATAM Brasil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

LATAM is seeking to restructure $18 billion in debt. When it filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection in May, it was the world’s largest airline to date to seek an emergency reorganization due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reporting by Jamie McGeever and Marcelo Rochabrun)