Wow Air lays off over 100 employees
- The Icelandic, ultra-low-cost airline Wow Air laid off 111 employees on Thursday, the airline said in a press release.
- The airline added that contractors and short-term employees will not have their contracts renewed.
- Wow Air described 2018 as a "challenging" year and said it was in the process of "restructuring and simplifying its operations."
- The airline now has around 1,000 employees.
The Icelandic, ultra-low-cost airline Wow Air laid off 111 employees on Thursday, the airline said in a press release. The airline added that contractors and short-term employees will not have their contracts renewed.
"WOW air hopes to be able to offer affected employees a future employment opportunity when WOW air starts growing again," the airline said.
The airline now has around 1,000 employees.
Wow Air described 2018 as a "challenging" year and said it was in the process of "restructuring and simplifying its operations." The airline said it would trim its fleet from twenty to eleven aircraft by selling Four Airbus A321 aircraft and potentially returning some aircraft, including all of its Airbus A321s, to lessors. The airline's fleet will consist of single-aisle Airbus aircraft.
"This is the most difficult day in the history of WOW air. We have dedicated people who have worked hard to make WOW air a reality and it breaks my heart to downsize the company," Wow Air CEO Skuli Mogensen said in the press release. "However, in order to ensure our future and preserve WOW air in the long run, we unfortunately must take these drastic measures."
Wow Air will introduce a new flight schedule in January, the airline said, though its December and early-January schedules will not change.
Icelandair, Iceland's flagship carrier, said in November that it would not follow through on its deal to purchase Wow Air because of unspecified conditions Icelandair said were not likely to be met.
You can read Wow Air's full press release below: