No matter how hard COVID-19 squeezes its finances, Japan Airlines Co. must stick to a philosophy of preserving jobs and keeping workers happy, according to its former assistant chairman Yoshihito Ohta, who played a key role in the company’s turnaround from collapse a decade ago.
Like most carriers around the world, Japan Airlines has been floored by the pandemic. It forecasts losses of as much as ¥270 billion this fiscal year, its first slide into the red since emerging from one of the country’s biggest-ever bankruptcies. Rival ANA Holdings Inc. also warned of a record loss and both have turned to subordinated loans and new share sales for support.
The pandemic has forced the aviation industry to shed hundreds of thousands of jobs globally, but Japan Airlines is maintaining most of its wider 35,000-strong workforce despite being left with extra staff for its more threadbare flight schedule. A few hundred employees have been sent to work short-term at places such as KDDI Corp. and Nojima Corp., as well as in factories, call centers and local governments. ANA has done similar, though it is reducing its headcount too.