Negotiations between Deutsche Lufthansa and Vereinigung Cockpit over the closure of Lufthansa CityLine have ended without agreement, allowing the group to proceed with the subsidiary’s final liquidation. CityLine’s short- and medium-haul flight operations were suspended in April, with Lufthansa transferring flying progressively to Lufthansa City Airlines. The union has sharply criticised the handling of the workforce transition.
The talks concerned a company-level reconciliation of interests covering severance arrangements, transfers within the Lufthansa Group and a possible social plan. VC is seeking binding solutions for employees affected by the closure, while Lufthansa is promoting termination agreements and transfers to other group airlines, including Lufthansa City Airlines.
VC board member and CityLine pilot Anja Granvogl argued that employees do not have a genuine free choice while the closure remains under way and that the proposed arrangements place pressure on staff. Lufthansa maintains that transfer opportunities are available and that an existing collective agreement gives some employees two years of protection against dismissal with continued pay.
Lufthansa attributed the restructuring to higher fuel and personnel costs and the gradual transfer of routes to City Airlines. The dispute reflects the group’s broader strategy of shifting feeder flying, aircraft and crews to lower-cost operating companies with different collective-bargaining conditions.