Lion Air to furlough up to a third of its workforce

The Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air announced on July 31, 2021, that it was going to furlough 8,000 employees as the airline's financial standing took a hit from COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Lion Air plans to furlough between 25% to 35% of its 23,000 workforces after reducing flight operations due to travel restrictions.

"The decision was taken to maintain the business and company's sustainability, streamline company operations, reduce costs and restructure the organization amid aviation operational conditions that have yet to return to normal from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," said the airline in a statement.

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Lion Air Group, which operates Wings Air, Batik Air, and Lion Air, has reportedly reduced operations to 10-15 % of its available capacity of 1,400 flights per day.

Indonesia has suffered one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia, with more than 3.4 million reported infections and over 94,000 deaths.