Lufthansa to hire 20,000 employees to tackle staff shortages

German flag carrier Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) has announced plans to hire 20,000 new employees with a new recruitment campaign.

As the carrier continues to see strong recovery in passenger demand for air travel post-pandemic, it is seeking to hire aviation professionals to fill roles such as pilots, cabin crew members, and aircraft technicians as well as IT specialists and lawyers.

The newcomers are expected to join the air carrier at its home bases in Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland, particularly in Frankfurt (FRA) Munich (MUC), Hamburg (HAM), Vienna (VIE), Brussels (BRU), and Zurich (CRH).

Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) had just under 140,000 employees at the end of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, between 2020 and 2022 the airline took drastic cost-cutting measures and laid off at least 10,000 employees. The move resulted in staff shortages causing operational difficulties and forcing Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) to cut thousands of flights during the peak summer season of 2022.