This week, KLM announced the results of the first quarter. And although the first quarter is usually very challenging financially, the result of -290 million was of course disappointing. Fortunately, the aviation market is still showing positive signs for KLM, due to strong demand and associated high ticket prices. This still offers opportunities, but at the same time brings challenges.
One of the biggest challenges for KLM is and remains to optimize capacity to meet demand. During the corona pandemic, KLM was forced to say goodbye to many employees. The speed with which the market has recovered and the recruitment of new staff is and remains challenging. Finding the right balance between customer demand and putting the operation in order is therefore crucial for KLM’s success.
Another aspect that affects KLM’s result is costs. These costs weigh on profitability. We find the relationship that is made with the personnel costs ‘complicated’. After all, the current employees deserve good working conditions and good working conditions and working conditions are also important for recruiting new staff. That is why we remain committed to this.
Of course, we see that KLM’s management is taking measures to get the operation back in order as soon as possible. A point of concern here is that we believe that it is essential that these measures are not only aimed at putting the operation in order, but also at ensuring good working conditions for the staff. Understaffing and operational problems cause a lot of work pressure and (too) high absenteeism. We will therefore continue to take a critical look at how KLM wants to reduce costs in the coming period. The workload should certainly not increase (in some places it should even decrease), so that job satisfaction increases again.
A good balance between cost control, operational efficiency and ensuring employee well-being is therefore crucial for KLM’s sustainable success in these challenging times. The Union has been and will continue to monitor this closely. In your interest.
Sincerely,
Huug Brinkers & Wicher van der Hoef
