In the match for Alitalia comes the relaunch of Lufthansa. The German giant waives the claim to control the company with 51% and especially it halves the redundancies requested from about 6 thousand to about 3 thousand.
In this way Lufthansa equalizes – in terms of job cuts – Delta's offer for Alitalia. The American carrier is trying to convince easyJet to get back into the game. In terms of shares, the project envisages that FS will not go beyond 35-40% of the capital of the newco, while Delta and the English low-cost company should reach 20% each. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti could assume the role of financial partner.
Meanwhile, from Lufthansa comes the request to tighten the times: "If this hesitation will last much longer, nothing will remain of the proud Alitalia“, he thunders in an interview with the Handelsblatt Harry Hohemeister, member of the Board of Directors of the German company.
“We don't feel that the right discussions are taking place there – he says about the reactions from Italy – I repeat once again: if we are interested in Alitalia it is for a restructured group, which will be successful for a long time. I think employees finally need perspective."
In reality, Lufthansa has not yet made any official black and white proposal for Alitalia. However, Hohmeister underlines that the decision is still open: "We have always said it: the Italian market is very strong and important for us". And he adds that Alitalia would benefit from joining the German group because it would find itself in a "strong and successful reality, with experience in the airline integration sector and a sustainable plan. In short: Alitalia would have a perspective".
As far as the redundancies, Hohmeister he does not specify whether the 3 that Lufthansa is talking about now are total — i.e. 3 thousand out of 11.917 as at 30 September 2018 — or concern only the "aviation" part, the one that has always interested Lufthansa. In any case, the manager claims that he has not heard in Italy "that what Lufthansa is proposing is so problematic as to be unacceptable".
