THE HAGUE, November 5. /TASS/. Dutch airline KLM will cut approximately 5,000 jobs, or nearly 15% of its total workforce, to reduce expenses, the Hart van Nederland news portal reported.

According to the portal, the carrier aims to avoid compulsory redundancies, opting instead for voluntary departure programs, internal reassignments, and natural attrition, including retirements and resignations. Furthermore, KLM intends to outsource ground handling services for its subsidiary, KLM Cityhopper, to a third-party contractor. Similar outsourcing measures will partially affect KLM’s baggage handling operations at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The airline also plans to expand service digitalization, enabling passengers to perform more operations independently.

As the portal notes, the airline will phase out its Airbus A320 aircraft in favor of smaller Embraer E195-E2 jets to cut costs. Management estimates that a sustainable financial performance improvement of €1 billion is required to boost investments in digitalization, fleet renewal, and service enhancements. Previous measures have already improved this figure by €750 million.

In recent years, the airline has faced a significant rise in costs, driven in part by higher airport charges at Schiphol. At the same time, the company needs to maintain the competitiveness of its network-based business model, which requires further expense reduction.