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LATAM Colombia Temporarily Suspends Employment Contracts

A LATAM Brasil A350-900 lands in São Paulo/Guarulhos. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | João Machado)

Through a statement recorded on video today, Santiago Álvarez Matamoros, Latam Colombia CEO, announced that the carrier will temporarily suspend employment contracts until the carrier resumes operations.

“Today is a very difficult day for me, as the leader of this company. After making all possible efforts and enduring expenses for three months without receiving incomes, we have been forced to temporarily suspend the employment contracts of LATAM Colombia,” said Santiago Álvarez.

According to the LATAM Colombia CEO, the decision is made due to the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has taken more time than originally anticipated to resume operations and the uncertainty of not knowing when the airline will return to the skies. Santiago Álvarez also clarified that once the government authorizes to restart operations, they will be gradually calling the workers they need to guarantee the operations.

“Despite the measures implemented during these three months, the current situation leads us to the painful decision to temporarily suspend the employment contracts of LATAM Airlines Colombia from June 16, 2020, under the provisions of the Substantive Labor Code in number 1 of article 51,” declared Santiago Álvarez.

“I take this opportunity to thank the effort made until today and tell you that I will continue to work hard to seek the reopening of the sector and internally with our suppliers and union organizations to find ways that allow us to prepare for the future and guarantee the continuity of the company in the market,” finished Santiago Álvarez.

He also highlighted the efforts made by the airline employees and the work made by the group with the implementation of different initiatives to protect the Colombian company.

It is important to remember that LATAM Airlines Group decided this May 15, to lay off 1,400 workers from its branches in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Then, on May 26, the group filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. After that, LATAM Airlines group announced the closure of LATAM Argentina, and finally, LATAM Colombia announced today that it will temporarily suspend employment contracts.

This news show that the COVID-19 impact in the aviation industry is real. LATAM Airlines Group CEO, Roberto Alvo, declared the past June 5, that, “Unfortunately I cannot promise that we will not continue to shrink the company. We are forced to resize ourselves because the aviation industry is going to be smaller for a long time. The industry is going to take three to four years to recover again, many people are going to postpone their trips, the economic situation obviously affects.”

Juan Pedro Sanchez Zamudio

Author

  • Juan Pedro Sanchez Zamudio

    The three things Juan loves most about aviation are aircraft, airports, and traveling thousands of miles in just a few hours. What he enjoys the most about aviation is that it is easier and cheaper to travel around the world and this gives you the opportunity to visit places you thought were too far away. He has traveled to different destinations in North, Central, South America and Asia. Born, raised and still living in Perú, Juan is a lawyer, soccer lover, foodie, passionate traveler, dog lover, millennial and curious by nature.

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