KLM to cut 250 back-office jobs

January 31, 2025

KLM has announced plans to cut 250 non-operational roles as part of a wider strategy to improve its financial and operational performance.
The Dutch airline first outlined cost-saving measures in October 2024, aiming to boost efficiency and deliver €450 million in financial improvements.
The job reductions, affecting back-office and administrative positions, are part of ongoing restructuring efforts.
KLM previously announced that it would postpone the construction of a new headquarters, as well as investments for two buildings at its Engineering & Maintenance division.
“Measures are being taken across the company to increase productivity by at least 5% and improve profitability. Investments are being reconsidered and postponed, and there is an ongoing exploration to divest or discontinue activities that do not directly contribute to its operations,” the company said.
Additionally, KLM and the Dutch Airline Pilots Association VNV have reached an agreement on temporary measures to increase pilot availability and ensure the schedule for European and intercontinental destinations for the upcoming summer and winter seasons can go ahead as planned.
Marjan Rintel, KLM president and CEO, said: “Our focus is 100% on laying a solid foundation for a healthy and future-proof KLM. A strong and competitive airline that is appreciated by customers and continues to connect the Netherlands with the rest of the world. It is crucial for our future to structurally lower costs, which involves making painful choices.
“One of these measures is reducing the number of non-operational jobs, where we will try to avoid forced layoffs, although we cannot rule this out in advance. We will approach this process with the utmost care, in close consultation with the Works Council. For operational jobs and positions that are difficult to fill in the current labor market, we will continue to recruit to maintain our operational capacity as much as possible.”