This archive report was first published on 27 November 2019.
Published on November 27, 2019, Tunisair, Tunisia's state-owned airline, is facing significant financial difficulties, which have led to flight delays, declining services, and the grounding of aircraft due to a lack of spare parts.
The airline's bloated workforce of 8,000 has been a major contributor to its financial woes, with the government struggling to trim the number of employees in the face of resistance from labor unions.
According to CEO Elyess Mankabi, the airline plans to lay off 400 employees in 2020 as part of a structural reform program aimed at reducing the company's high wage mass and easing its financial difficulties.
The plan was approved by the government, and it is part of broader reforms aimed at curbing losses incurred by large state-owned companies, which amounted to about $2 billion last year.
Tunisair's financial struggles are not new, dating back to the ousting of President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, and the airline faces increased competition as the country negotiates an Open Skies agreement with the European Union.
