Dutch airline KLM plans ‘painful’ cost-cutting to combat high costs and staff shortages

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch airline KLM has announced a “painful” round of cost-cutting and other measures. They aim to boost the carrier’s finances as it continues to recover from the COVID pandemic that grounded planes worldwide. CEO Marjan Rintel said Thursday that KLM, along with many other airlines, “is suffering from high costs and shortages of staff and equipment.” The carrier says the package of measures is intended to improve its operating result by 450 million euros ($497 million) in the short term. It did not reveal if the changes would lead to staff cuts, but said it aims to “protect jobs across the company as much as possible.”