Oman Air cuts a quarter of workforce after losses

Loss-making national airline Oman Air has let go of at least 900 people – equivalent to almost a quarter of its workforce – after posting yet another loss last year, newspapers including the Times of Oman reported.

Of the 900, more than 500 are expatriates and the remaining 400 Omani nationals, Saeed bin Hamoud Al Maawali, Oman Air chairman said, according to Gulf News.

The redundancies were “necessary to align staffing with industry standards”, Al Maawali is quoted as saying.

Before restructuring, Oman Air employed about 4,300 people, of whom almost half – or 45 percent – were not core employees, Al Maawali said. The newspaper did not make clear whether the redundancies were among core or non-core employees.

• World Bank loans Oman $310m for economic diversification
• Oman’s free zones attracted $4bn in investments last year
• Property market in Oman cools

Oman Air has set aside OR15 million ($39 million) to cover the cost of the redundancies, the newspapers said.

The flag carrier reported a OR72 million loss last year, even before interest payments and taxes. The airline has lost, on average, OR150 million a year for the last ten years.