Italy’s flagship airline Alitalia entered administration on Tuesday for the second time in ten years, after employees rejected a rescue plan that would have seen their wages slashed.
Italy’s government approved a 600 million euro bridging loan to allow the company to continue operations during the administration process. The company now has several months to either find a buyer, or wind the business up altogether.
The Italian carrier has received a total of 7 billion euros from the government over the past 10 years, entering administration yet again after employees rejected a bailout plan that would have seen its 12,500-strong workforce cut and wages lowered. This vote came despite the fact that Italian workers’ unions managed to negotiate cuts down from 30 percent to 8 percent and reduce predicted job losses from an initial 2,000.
The Italian government have ruled out nationalising the business, which was privatised in 2008. The airline is currently 49 percent owned by Gulf carrier Ethiad, whose chief executive James Hogan said:
We have done all we could to support Alitalia, as a minority shareholder, but it is clear this business requires fundamental and far-reaching restructuring to survive and grow in future.
“Without the support of all stakeholders for that restructuring, we are not prepared to continue to invest.”