Lufthansa breaks off talks with ground-staff union

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: German airline Lufthansa said Thursday it had broken off negotiations with the Verdi union on cutting ground staff wages, warning that forced redundancies may be unavoidable as the pandemic wreaks havoc on the travel industry.

Verdi union's deputy chairwoman Christine Behle called Lufthansa's walkout, after 20 rounds of talks, "a slap in the face" for 24,000 ground crew members.

Europe's largest airline by passengers said it was negotiating with all employee groups "to stabilise the company" amid the collapse in air traffic because of the coronavirus crisis. But without union backing for its proposals, forced redundancies "can no longer be avoided", it warned.