JAL to reassign 3,000 workers, expecting long business travel slump

Jul 20 (Nikkei) - Japan Airlines plans to transfer about 3,000 workers from its core business to its budget carriers and nonaviation units, Nikkei has learned, as forecasts show business travel struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels.

The move will see JAL pivot more toward tourism demand, which is expected to recover faster.

This marks JAL's first workforce reshuffle centering on noncore businesses. Of the 3,000 or so workers to be reassigned, about 60% will go to nonaviation units such as Jalux, which handles airport shopping, e-commerce and insurance. The remainder will be transferred to budget carrier businesses, including Zipair Tokyo, which started service in 2020.

JAL had about 35,400 employees groupwide as of fiscal 2021. Almost 90% of this total -- roughly 31,300 -- worked in the airline segment, which does not include its low-cost carrier operations.

JAL anticipates that the budget carrier and nonaviation segments will have about 3,000 new workers by fiscal 2025, with these positions to be filled through reassignment along with new recruits.

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