This archive report was first published on 21 November 2019.
Published on November 21, 2019, Air Botswana has unveiled plans to cut more than half of its staff as part of a restructuring plan aimed at reducing costs and improving profitability.
The southern African country's carrier, which owns three aircraft serving domestic and regional routes, has been running at a loss for over a decade due to high maintenance costs for its planes.
According to Air Botswana director Agnes Khunwana, the airline currently has a staff complement of about 450 staff members, with the intention to have around 210 staff members after the restructuring.
The retrenchment stems from plans to eliminate the carrier's ground-handling operations, which will be provided by a private company yet to be established.
"In terms of the numbers of restructuring... we have a staff complement of about 450 staff members and the intention is to have about 210 staff members," said Khunwana at a media briefing on Tuesday.
Most of the laid-off workers are expected to be hired by the new company, which will take over the ground-handling operations.
