July 13, 2017
BBC News Africa


[image: Inline image 2]AIR ZIMBABWE
Image caption Unconfirmed reports say that an airline name change is also
being considered


Zimbabwe's state-owned airline has laid off 200 workers, roughly half of
its staff, with immediate effect.

The job losses are part of a turnaround strategy to bring struggling Air
Zimbabwe back to profitability from a $300m (£230m) debt.

Last month the EU banned it from using its airspace, citing safety concerns.

There have been major changes at the national airline since President
Robert Mugabe's son-in-law took over as chief operating officer last year.
'Struggling to keep afloat'

"We were overstaffed by a lot and we are also trying to weed out people
without the right qualifications," the airline's chairwoman Chipo Dyanda
said on Wednesday.

"The retrenchment is meant to give space to the airline so that we can
redeploy the money saved back into the company."

An Air Zimbabwe spokesperson told state media that management has also been
trimmed from 28 to just 12 and the finance department from 36 to 17.
[image: Inline image 1]Image copyright AFP Image caption President Mugabe
(second on the left) is a frequent Air Zimbabwe flyer

The airline has struggled to keep afloat over the last decade and plans to
carry out a restructuring exercise that will include retraining for all
staff, including top management.

Unconfirmed reports say that a name change is also in the pipeline - a move
many believe is an attempt to ring-fence the airline's debt and reduce the
threat of creditors seizing the planes.

The BBC's Shingai Nyoka in Harare says that President Mugabe is a frequent
flier on the airline, often leasing out the largest plane for state visits
and private medical visits to the Far East.

In May, President Mugabe said that Zimbabwe was the most-highly developed
country <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39803593> in Africa after
South Africa. He denied that the country was in a fragile state.

Zimbabwe has been struggling to pay its civil servants recently and is
ranked 24th on the UNDP's Human Development Index for Africa.








-- 
Ann Marie

"The art of living consists of knowing what to pay attention to and what to
ignore."  -- Mardy Grothe

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