Aviation services firm John Menzies has announced it has cut more than 17,500 jobs worldwide as it struggles to deal with the major slump in air travel caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Edinburgh-based firm said the move was part of a major effort to cut costs.
The job losses represent more than half of the group’s total workforce.
Menzies provides fueling, ground handling and cargo handling services at 200 airports.
The company said its international and domestic airline customers had been grounding passenger flights “on an unprecedented scale”.
The number of flights handled in the past two weeks has fallen by more than 60%, while volumes in the cargo sector have dropped by about 20%.
In a trading update, the company said those who had lost their jobs were being supported in some countries by governmental schemes and it hoped that “in the fullness of time a high number of these employees can return to the business”.
