SAS has sent pink slips to 100 Swedish cabin staff workers. Beginning in February next year, the Swedes will be replaced by Norwegian personnel.
The dismissals are the result of a dispute between the airline and the Swedish cabin workers union. New SAS planes have a smaller rest area for crew than older models, and the union has taken the position that the reduced space is unacceptable.
“I think it is a mistake for SAS to employ this kind of tactic,” the head union negotiator, Gert Moberg, told Sweden’s TV4.
Norwegians not as fussy
Norwegian cabin crews do not have the same requirements for rest facilities in their union agreements, so they can take over from the Swedish cabin crews.
SAS said it regretted that that negotiations with the Swedish union had stalled.
“We do not want to be in this situation, but we have not been able to find a solution,” Margareta Vang, the head of the SAS cabin crews, told TV4.
READ MORE: SAS cutting back on flights
It is unknown how many employees will actually lose their jobs and how many will actually be reassigned to other positions within the airline.
