LISBON: Portugal’s economy minister, António Pires de Lima, said on Tuesday that the plan drawn up by the management board of state airline TAP to overcome the financial difficulties caused by the recent pilots’ strike at the company “very probably” does not involve job losses.
“If I said that it’s not the main [point], that’s because very probably it won’t be considered,” the minister said in a speech in Madrid, referring to the plan submitted by TAP to the government on Monday. The government is pressing ahead with plans to sell a majority stake in the company, despite objections from the political opposition.
In comments to journalists in Madrid, Pires de Lima said he had not himself seen the TAP plan, which was being handled by the secretary of state for transport, Sérgio Monteiro. TAP management submitted the plan to show how it intended to overcome cashflow problems arising out of a 10-day strike at the beginning of this month. The company said it lost millions of euros because of the action.
