At the beginning of May, Air-Glaciers SA announced that drastic measures would have to be taken to ensure its continued existence as a healthy and competitive company.

Financial stabilisation
While 60 of the 146 jobs at Air-Glaciers SA were potentially at risk, several proposals made by the staff and the SCIV have now been considered and will be implemented. This consultation phase once again demonstrated the strong commitment of the employees, who are very attached to Air-Glaciers SA

Three phases
The reorientation of the company, which is intended to ensure stabilisation and a positive outlook, will be carried out in three phases. The first phase, which is already underway, allow for a reduction of Air-Glaciers SA's excessive workforce. Unfortunately, despite the proposals examined during the consultation process, 18 jobs had to be cut by the end of May 2020. Of these, seven jobs were reduced due to natural fluctuation and without redundancies. An initial reduction was achieved with three voluntary departures, one retirement and the outsourcing of three jobs (transfer of three jobs to La Chaux-de-Fonds, Centaurium Aviation).

The second phase will involve a reorganisation of the company, due by the end of June. In the medium term, strategic options will be taken, which will determine the future direction of Air-Glaciers SA.

Further decisions will have to be taken in the course of June, which should be limited to about 15 additional job cuts. As far as the final strategic phase is concerned, it is still too early to determine the exact number of jobs affected.

Services provided by Air-Glaciers SA
The rescue and transport helicopters are still fully operational and flight operations of all kinds are secured. The patronage card is not affected in any way by the measures that have been initiated; the promised services, including repatriations, are still fully guaranteed. People in need can count on the services of Air-Glaciers SA at all times, whether they are benefactors or not.

The commercial charter flights with the fixed-wing aircraft to Saint-Tropez are currently suspended because the borders with France have not been opened yet. The board of directors has consequently decided not to continue these flights for this season and has no plans to resume them thereafter. Customers will be informed as soon as possible that they can request a full refund for tickets already reserved or convert their ticket into helicopter flight minutes.

Based on AvS/Jenny Sterchi