Aer Lingus Business Plan

Victor

http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0725/aerlingus.html

IMPACT to resist Aer Lingus redundancies
25 July 2004 22:48

Cabin crew and pilots' union IMPACT has said it will resist compulsory redundancies at Aer Lingus.

It was responding to a report that the chief executive of Aer Lingus, Willie Walsh will announce a radical business plan tomorrow, proposing a reduction in the airline's workforce by 1,300.

The union is due to meet management on Tuesday to discuss the new business plan.

Assistant General Secretary Michael Landers said the level of job cuts reported today was unnecessary and sought only to increase profits for an already profitable airline.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2004/07/25/story158616.html

Thirteen hundred jobs look set to go at Aer Lingus.

Chief executive Willie Walsh is expected to announce a radical business plan tomorrow, which will see a quarter of the workforce let go.

The board of Aer Lingus will be asked to approve this controversial plan – which is aimed at cutting costs to rival low-budget airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet.

According to the Sunday Business Post, the plan to cut the 4,000 strong workforce down to 2,700 will be phased in over the next three years.

If approved, the number of cabin-crew will drop by almost 300, about 450 jobs would go from check-in and baggage handling, 60 from cargo and catering would be outsourced to the private sector – with a loss of 200 jobs.

It is believed Willie Walsh will announce the plan tomorrow, which unions at the airline are expected to condemn.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2004/07/25/story158652.html

SIPTU unhappy with Aer Lingus cutbacks
25/07/2004 - 13:05:32

Workers at the state-owned airline Aer Lingus will not be bullied in any future development plans, union bosses warned today.

Jack O’Connor, president of the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) said the airline must follow a sensible policy approach after it was reported a radical new programme involving 1,300 job cuts may be planned.

Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh is expected to outline cutbacks involving slashing a quarter of the workforce including cabin crew, baggage handlers, cargo, catering and check-in staff.

In a statement, Mr O’Connor said: “The employees of Aer Lingus must not allow themselves to be bullied in this situation.

“There are social partnership models in place by agreement with both the Government and the company which are designed to take account of the interests of all stake holders in the development of policy in Aer Lingus, informed by the primacy of the national interest.

“We will be insisting on adherence to these.”

The proposed job-cuts would bring the workforce down from over 4,000 to 2,700 across Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports over the next three-years, according to a report in the Sunday Business Post.

A team of executives, including Mr Walsh, who recently proposed a management buy-out of the company, is presenting the business plan to the board tomorrow.

The union president said: “We have no interest in facilitating the enhancement of the wealth of a few individuals or participating in rationalisation plans for the sole purpose of preparing the company for privatisation for its own sake.”

The team is expected to warn the board that the company needs to cut costs by 10% to rival competitors including budget-airline Ryanair.

If the plan is put in place it would be the second job-cutting business plan for the airline, as a major survival programme launched in 2001 involved 2,000 redundancies.

Mr O’Connor said the workers had already undergone extensive job losses.

“This has resulted in the radical transformation of the commercial fortunes of the company, restoring healthy profitability, contrary to experience generally in the airline industry internationally,” he added.

The rapid expansion plan is also believed to outline 24 commercially viable European routes, which the management favour flying to, including Malta, Cyprus and Athens.

Ministers are considering last month’s request by Mr Walsh to buy-out the state-owned company and will make a decision on the company’s future in the autumn.

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan has said the Government has not ruled out a management buy-out but if they were taking the privatisation route, all options would be considered.

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/3654804?view=Eircomnet

New restructuring plan at Aer Lingus may cut 1,300 jobs
From:ireland.com
Saturday, 24th July, 2004

Aer Lingus's new restructuring plan is likely to include cuts of 250 jobs from permanent cabin crew, 150 ground-handling jobs at Shannon Airport and the virtual elimination of some of the State company's operations, The Irish Times learned last night.

Chief executive Mr Willie Walsh is set to unveil the plan at a board meeting on Monday. It is understood that it will seek to cut the existing 4,600-strong workforce by 1,100-1,300.

In the short term the company's catering and cleaning divisions are likely to be axed, and the service will be outsourced. The catering service employs around 300 people.

Large sections of its baggage and check-in services will also be outsourced. According to some company sources, there are subcontractors already providing these services in the Republic for more than 20 per cent less than the cost of these operations to Aer Lingus.

Over the medium term, it is understood that the Aer Lingus cargo operations will be drastically reduced, with just some services, Germany and transatlantic, kept in operation.

The reduction of cargo services is in line with Mr Walsh's goal of focusing on the core business and turning Aer Lingus into a low-cost operator.

Mr Walsh and his colleagues have been working on the plan for some time, and there has already been some initial contact with the airline's unions.

He has also told workers that he will not sign off on a deal that would increase the employees' stake in the airline from 4.6 per cent to almost 15 per cent until a new restructuring procedure is agreed.

Since Mr Walsh took over in 2001, he implemented a survival plan for the airline that cut more than 2,000 people from its payroll. The airline was facing bankruptcy when he became chief executive.

Earlier this month, he and two colleagues - chief financial officer Mr Brian Dunne and chief operations officer Mr Séamus Kearney - sought permission from the Department of Transport to "develop an investment proposal", which was interpreted as a management buyout, for the State company.

The Government responded by establishing a Cabinet sub-committee, chaired by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, to consider all the options facing Aer Lingus. That is expected to reach a decision in the autumn.

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/3660795?view=Eircomnet

Aer Lingus seeking to cut 25% of staff over three years - report
From:ireland.com
Sunday, 25th July, 2004

Aer Lingus management will reveal details of a restructuring plan to reduce its workforce by a quarter in a bid to attain a cost-base similar to budget operators, it has been reported this morning.

According to today's Sunday Business Post, the airline's chief executive Mr Willie Walsh will present a second business plan to reduce the company's workforce from 4,000 to 2,700 over the next three years.

The report says that under the plan the number of cabin crew will drop from 1,061 to 770 with a further 450 jobs cut from check-in and baggage handling services

The airline's catering services and cleaning services would be outsourced under the plan, reducing the workforce by a further 280.

The remainder of the job cuts will be from operations at the State's three main airports at Dublin, Cork, and Shannon.

Union response to the plan is likely to be frosty with Aer Lingus on target to report of €96 million in profits this year.

The airline averted collapse following a survival plan in 2001 which required 2,000 redundancies. The Mr Walsh has also submitted a management buyout plan to the Minister for Transport

Victor

http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0726/aerlingus.html

Aer Lingus board approves business plan
26 July 2004

The board of Aer Lingus has approved a three-year business plan for the airline during a meeting in Dublin.

In a statement, the board said the plans outlined what is needed for the company to survive in a low fares environment.

The details of the plan are not expected to be made public until after a meeting with unions tomorrow.

IMPACT and SIPTU have already said that they would oppose any compulsory redundancies.

The two biggest unions reacted angrily to reports that Aer Lingus is to shed 1,300 jobs.

Mick Halpenny, the National Industrial Secretary of SIPTU, said no clear case for any redundancies had been made and warned that any attempt by the company to force change would be resisted.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, said if there were to be job cuts in Aer Lingus he did not see any reason why they should not be on a voluntary basis.

Speaking to RTÉ News, Mr Brennan said Aer Lingus had succeeded spectacularly over the last three years in getting agreement on staff reductions, and he would not like there to be any compulsory redundancies.

http://www.rte.ie/business/2004/0727/aerlingus.html

Aer Lingus workers 'won't be bullied'
July 27, 2004 19:11

Management and unions at Aer Lingus met this afternoon to discuss a new three-year business plan agreed by the board of the company yesterday.

Aer Lingus said the plan outlined the actions necessary for the company to continue operating in a low fares environment.

Reports suggest management proposes cutting 1,300 jobs - that is 300 in cabin crew, 450 jobs from check-in and baggage handling, 60 from the cargo division and 280 from cleaning and catering.

After the meeting, SIPTU national industrial secretary Michael Halpenny warned the airline that no restructuring plan could be put in place without the full agreement of the workforce and their unions.

He said Aer Lingus was now a highly profitable company. 'It is not good enough for management to think they can simply imitate Ryanair or EasyJet and boost profits by sacking more workers and exploiting those left behind,' he added.

Mr Halpenny said the unions had shown a willingness to adapt to change, but said workers would not be bullied. He said SIPTU would insist on sticking to social partnership models which were already in place in any talks on company policy.

Unions have said that they will oppose any compulsory redundancies.

IMPACT assistant general secretary Christina Carney said the union had told management that it would not accept the changes without agreement with the appropriate trade unions.

IMPACT, which represents Aer Lingus cabin crew, middle managers, and pilots, said it had arranged a series of information meetings with members in Dublin, Cork, Shannon and London.

Earlier, the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union's regional secretary Arthur Hall said his members were committed to the long term future of Aer Lingus, and were not interested in 'short haul, short term, get rich quick programmes driven by top management and their wealthy backers'.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0727/aerlingus.html

Aer Lingus management & unions in talks

27 July 2004 19:56

Management and unions at Aer Lingus met this afternoon to discuss a new three-year business plan agreed by the board of the company yesterday.

Aer Lingus said the plan outlined the actions necessary for the company to continue operating in a low fares environment.

Reports suggest management proposes cutting 1,300 jobs - 300 in cabin crew, 450 jobs from check-in and baggage handling, 60 from the cargo division and 280 from cleaning and catering.

After the meeting, SIPTU national industrial secretary Michael Halpenny warned the airline that no restructuring plan could be put in place without the full agreement of the workforce and its unions.

He said Aer Lingus was now a highly profitable company. 'It is not good enough for management to think they can simply imitate Ryanair or EasyJet and boost profits by sacking more workers and exploiting those left behind,' he added.

Mr Halpenny said the unions had shown a willingness to adapt to change, but said workers would not be bullied. He said SIPTU would insist on sticking to social partnership models already in place in any talks on company policy.

Unions have said that they will oppose any compulsory redundancies.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2004/07/27/story158963.html

Aer Lingus plan needs worker support, unions warn
27/07/2004 - 18:00:04

A three-year Aer Lingus restructuring plan will not work without the support of unions and staff, union leaders claimed tonight.

SIPTU National Industrial Secretary Michael Halpenny claimed slashing the workforce by a quarter would not be supported by workers at the airline.

And he said it was not good enough for management to think they could imitate Ryanair or EasyJet, boosting profits by sacking workers and exploiting those left behind.

“We have no interest in participating in a rationalisation plan whose main purpose is to facilitate privatisation and enhancing the wealth of a few individuals,” Mr Halpenny said.

“The employees of Aer Lingus will not allow themselves to be bullied in this situation.

“We have shown we are willing to adapt to change, to plan ahead and to anticipate the demands of a highly competitive marketplace.”

SIPTU added the union was committed to developing a viable airline that served the interests of the State’s economy and society, while protecting jobs.

Airline bosses, however, said they will consult with union chiefs on the new three-year plan.

It is understood the plan outlines slashing the workforce by 1,300 to 2,700 across Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.

The jobs would go from among cabin crew, baggage handlers, check-in staff, and the catering and cargo teams.

Company bosses have claimed it is part of a new strategy to move the country’s national carrier to a low fare operator.

But they added the airline was on target to hit profits of almost €100m for this year.

Mr Halpenny said SIPTU would not and could not support a business plan that was the first step on the road to privatisation.

He added unions would fight against the proposed changes and demand the carrier stick to social partnership models agreed at governmental level.

IMPACT assistant general secretary Christina Carney said it was thanks to the workforce that Aer Lingus had been turned away from bankruptcy to profitability.

“IMPACT members will continue to work for the success of the company. But we won’t accept the imposition of massive change without agreement,” Ms Carney said. “We will certainly resist any proposals for compulsory redundancies.”

IMPACT, which represents cabin crew, middle managers, and pilots said it would hold meetings with members around the country to advise them.

Arthur Hall, regional secretary of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union said they were not interested in a short haul, short term, get rich quick scheme.

“We believe Aer Lingus must continue its primary task of providing an island economy with the range of services it needs to survive,” Mr Hall said.

“We are ready for change, but it must be change that is in the long term interests of the company, the employees and the country.”

Mr Hall added the Government should look at the New Zealand experience when the national carrier was sold for €550m only to be bought back for €1bn.

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/3671592?view=Eircomnet

Board of Aer Lingus approves plan to cut 1,300 jobs
From:ireland.com
Tuesday, 27th July, 2004

Despite opposition from unions and some worker directors, the Aer Lingus board has approved a cost-cutting plan that will result in 1,300 job losses across virtually every section of the airline, writes Emmet Oliver.

The plan envisages reduced staff numbers not just in areas such as baggage handling, cargo and catering, but also in ticketing, reservations and among pilots. The airline said such reductions were needed to help the airline open new routes and drive down fares.

Unions are expected to meet management today to discuss the details of the plan which Aer Lingus has declined to release because it contains commercially sensitive material.

It is understood the plan suggests several functions at the airline can easily be done by private companies on an outsourcing basis. For example, the German company Servisair Globeground already provides baggage handling to several airlines at Dublin Airport.

The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, yesterday said he did not object to the plan, although he emphasised he did not want to see compulsory redundancies. This view was supported by unions SIPTU and IMPACT who promised to strongly resist any compulsory lay-offs.

A company statement said Aer Lingus was performing well and on course to achieve operating profits of €95 million for 2004. It said the plan was needed to "ensure the continuing viability and growth of the business in the highly competitive, low-fares environment".

Some worker directors registered their concern at the four- hour board meeting and some are believed to want clarifications on some elements of the plan. Some staff are concerned about a link between the job cuts and plans to sell the airline either to private institutions or a management-led group.

However the airline's chief executive, Mr Willie Walsh, has said Aer Lingus needs to cut its costs regardless of who its ultimate owner might be. Mr Walsh has long pointed out that the airline's costs remain out of line with low-cost operators like Ryanair and EasyJet.

A Government sub-committee is currently studying what to do with Aer Lingus in the long term. The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, has already indicated his concern about plans to sell the airline.

Staff are due to shortly acquire a 14.9 per cent shareholding in the airline via an Employee Share Ownership Trust. The airline's pilots are also interested in putting together a staff-led consortium if the airline is put on the market. This option or a management-led buyout would have to gain support from the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan.

The Labour Party meanwhile last night said it found the airline's plans "hard to understand".

Its transport spokeswoman Ms Róisín Shortall questioned why such job losses were necessary when the company's recent results were so "exceptional". However, Mr Brennan said when things were going right was often the best time for change.

Ms Shortall said staff had already made sacrifices. "It appears quite unjust given the exceptional sacrifices the staff have already made to ask them to accept further substantial job losses, especially when the company is expected to report profits of close to €100 million in the current year."

"This is not just another company: it is a national asset that is of strategic importance to this country as an island nation, heavily dependent on tourism and one of the few member-states without a land link to the European mainland. Is Aer Lingus to continue to be our national airline or is it simply to be turned into yet another low-cost carrier?" she asked.

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/3671838?view=Eircomnet

Air chiefs back three-year job cuts and expansion plan
From:The Irish Independent
Tuesday, 27th July, 2004

THE board of Aer Lingus last night approved a radical restructuring plan which will see the firm shed 1,300 jobs in three years.

The proposals would also see the airline engaging in significant expansion, offering new routes in Europe as it grows its low fares network.

The company said in a statement last night it expected an operating profit this year of €95m. It is understood Aer Lingus's planned job cuts will be voluntary, concentrated within catering and cabin crew personnel. The cuts are part of an efficiency drive by chief executive Willie Walsh, who wants to rapidly expand on European routes.

Aer Lingus has 1,378 passengers for each employee, compared to Ryanair's 9,000 passengers per employee. It is understood Mr Walsh is keen to make the airline as competitive as possible, while numbers of European low fare carriers flying from Dublin increase.

The expansion plan includes new routes to Seville, Malta, Cyprus, Athens and other locations in Germany, France and Italy.

The plan has been developed on the assumption the airline will remain in State hands, although Mr Walsh has told the Government he is keen to assemble a management buy-out offer for the carrier.

When Aer Lingus developed its survival plan following the aviation crisis in the wake of the September 11 attacks in 2001, it shed 2,000 jobs as it was on the brink of collapse and offered staff a voluntary package of four weeks' pay for every year of service.

Under the earlier Cahill Plan, staff were offered six weeks' pay for every year of service.

But Michael Halpenny, national industrial secretary with Siptu, said the union was opposed to a restructuring being "imposed" on staff. "It is not just the redundancies which are the issue. The staff delivered in the past. We are entitled to be consulted.

"We are dealing with a profitable company. There has been 900 jobs shed since the 2,000 jobs in 2001. That's a total of 3,000 jobs gone."

Mr Walsh's expansion plan will attempt to emulate some of the successes of Ryanair, which bases planes outside Ireland and ferries passengers between other European locations.

Aer Lingus, however, is not a well-known brand outside Ireland.

It is understood the airline will need to invest €622m in the next three years. This does not take into account €400m which will be required when the three-year business plan ends.

The recent failure of the EU and US to agree to deregulate transatlantic routes will curb Mr Walsh's plans for additional US destinations.

Labour transport spokesperson Roisin Shortall TD yesterday described the job-cutting plan as "unjust given the exceptional sacrifices the staff has already made".

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan said a sweeping overhaul of Aer Lingus is possible without the need for massive compulsory redundancies at the State airline, writes Allison Bray. He denied union claims that a quarter of the State airline's workforce would be forced out.

He said the airline is like any other business and subject to market conditions over which it and the Government have no control. The right time to make changes was when you were doing well, he added. Both Impact and Siptu trade unions representing Aer Lingus workers last night said they would vigorously oppose job cuts.

David Murphy Deputy Business Editor

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/3673212?view=Eircomnet

Unions, management to discuss Aer Lingus plan
From:ireland.com
Tuesday, 27th July, 2004

Unions and management at Aer Lingus will today meet to discuss the company's proposal to shed 1,300 jobs as part of a plan to structure the airline as a low-cost carrier.

The plan was approved last evening by the board of the company but has been given a cool reception by unions. The unions and management will meet at 3 p.m. this afternoon.

While recognising that the company will need to cut staff to compete with Ryanair and Easyjet, both Impact and Siptu, the two biggest unions at the airline, questioned the scale of the proposed job-losses saying they will resist any attempt to enforce redundancies.

Last night they found an unlikely ally in the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, who also said compulsory redundancies were not desirable.

It is understood that some worker directors expressed concern about the plan at the board meeting yesterday, but the position of staff is complicated by their plan to assume a 15 per cent shareholding in the company in an employee share option scheme. Management have insisted they will not agree to the proposal unless a new restructuring is agreed.

An expressed interest in buying out the company by both pilots and management is raising concern that the restructuring is a precursor to privatisation.

Elements of the plan have been leaked to the press in recent days, but exact details did not emerge from yesterday's board meeting. The leaks suggest management want to cut the workforce by a quarter, outsourcing functions such as catering, cleaning and certain ground operations.

The Aer Lingus board issued a short statement after meeting, saying it had "approved a three-year business plan for the airline which details strategic, commercial and financial actions essential to ensure the continuing viability and growth of the business in the highly competitive, low-fares environment".

Victor

http://www.thepost.ie/web/DocumentView/did-243102086-pageUrl--2FThe-Newspaper-2FSundays-Paper.asp

Revealed: Where Aer Lingus jobs axe will fall
25/07/04 00:00
By Niamh Connolly

Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh will tomorrow announce a radical plan to axe 1,300 jobs - about one quarter of the workforce - from cabin crew, check-in, baggage handling, cargo and catering.

Walsh, who has proposed a management buy-out (MBO) of the company to the government, is expected to outline cutbacks aimed at achieving a cost-base to rival budget carriers Ryanair and EasyJet.

The board of Aer Lingus will be asked to approve Walsh's second business plan to slash the workforce from over 4,000 to 2,700 staff by 2007.

Walsh is expected to push for the first tranche of redundancies within the next six months.

If the jobs are cut, the workforce will have been halved from its 2001 figure of 6,000 employees.

Aer Lingus, which is on target for profits of €96 million this year, was saved from collapse through a radical survival plan in 2001, which involved 2,000 redundancies.

Under the latest plan, the number of cabin crew will drop by almost 300 from 1,061 to 770 on the back of the reduction in the airline's in-flight services on European routes.

About 450 jobs are to go from check-in and baggage handling services at Dublin, Shannon and Cork. Dublin airport will face 265 redundancies, Shannon, 150 and Cork, 50.

Sixty jobs will go in the airline's cargo division. This will facilitate faster turnaround on European routes, although cargo services to Frankfurt, a major hub, and on transatlantic routes will be retained.

Catering is to be outsourced to the private sector, resulting in the loss of 200 jobs. Cleaning services are also to be outsourced with a loss of about 80 jobs.

The trade unions are expected to condemn Walsh's plan, particularly in light of this year's expected profits, while the timing of the announcement within weeks of his MBO proposal is viewed as questionable.

``In 1993, the airline was in crisis and there were cuts,'' said a senior union source.

``In 2001, it was losing €3 million a day, but now it is €96 million in the black. The staff will be in no hurry to implement this plan.

``There is a recognition from the unions that there will have to be changes to work practices to stay in the game, but not to the extent that management is looking for.''

Further job losses at Dublin airport and Shannon will be greeted with alarm by Fianna Fail, following cuts which considerably damaged its political support in the June local elections.

Walsh aims to achieve revenue-per-employee that competes with Ryanair's €10,000 to €12,000, and EasyJet's €6,000.

Revenue-per-employee at Aer Lingus stands at about €4,000.

The cabinet is to make a decision on Walsh's MBO plan in September. The management team, which includes chief financial officer Brian Dunne and chief operations officer Seamus Kearney, has been told not take any further steps on its proposal to avoid a conflict of interest.

The company requires a €1 billion investment for a new transatlantic fleet. This could take the shape of a share placement with financial investors, a flotation, a trade sale, or an MBO.

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/3678787?view=Eircomnet

Aer Lingus unions insist on their stake
From:ireland.com
Wednesday, 28th July, 2004

Unions at Aer Lingus want 14.9 per cent of the company transferred into their ownership before there is any co-operation on the airline's new business plan, which involves 1,325 job losses.

The airline's largest union, SIPTU, last night said chief executive Mr Willie Walsh must immediately sign off on an agreement to transfer the shares to the Employee Share Ownership Trust (ESOT).

SIPTU's national industrial secretary, Mr Michael Halpenny,said the shares belonged to staff following an agreement drawn up during the last restructuring at the company following the September 11th attacks.

"We will be insisting on the honouring of outstanding obligations arising from previous rationlisation agreements before any plans of any kind are implemented," he said.

Mr Walsh has argued that the last rationalisation plan has not been fully delivered and, until then, the shares cannot be formally transferred. He recently said the Labour Court was still adjudicating on some of the issues. At a meeting yesterday, unions at the airline were presented with a broad outline of the business plan.

When it ended, the company simply said: "We will continuing to engage in consultation with our staff and their representatives." It is understood Mr Walsh impressed on the unions that the only way for Aer Lingus to drive down fares further was by cutting costs.

Unions on the other hand expressed unease at the scale of the job losses involved. Contrary to earlier reports the total number of jobs to go is believed to be 1,325. According to an information sheet provided to the unions, the airline wants about 450 check-in and baggage staff to go, about 200 catering staff, several hundred cabin crew, 80 cleaning staff, 70 pilots and 60 cargo staff.

The staff may be asked to leave as early as January 2005, said sources. "The whole thing is a little more front-loaded than we thought," said one union source.

Speaking after the meeting, Impact assistant general secretary Ms Christina Carney said her union told management it would not accept the imposition of change without agreement.

"Reported proposals to slash over 1,300 jobs would be excessive and Impact will resist compulsory redundancies and any attempt to impose change without consultation and agreement," she said.

At this stage, most staff members are waiting to see what the company offers in redundancy. The package will need to exceed significantly the last Aer Lingus redundancy deal, said one worker last night. The last deal involved four weeks pay for every year of service, plus €1,000 for each year up to a limit of €20,000.