The Lufthansa Group has announced it will recruit a further 10,000 new employees in 2025 as the airline group continues to focus on its ‘Turnaround’ efficiency program. The program was launched in 2024 to reverse the fortunes of the airline group following multiple industrial disputes over the past two years that severely dented the Group’s finances and growth plans. Although 10,000 represents a sizeable recruitment drive, the figure of 10,000 is actually lower than the 13,000 hired in 2024.
The group cut over 30,000 jobs during the pandemic but has since been hiring to rebuild staff capacity. This number has been matched over the past three years, with 30,000 new employees joining the ranks across the Lufthansa Group which includes the airlines Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, SWISS, Discover Airlines, Eurowings, Brussels Airlines, and very shortly, ITA Airways.
The goal of recruiting a further 10,000 employees in 2025 will cover several disciplines across various businesses across the Group. Over 2,000 flight attendants, 1,400 ground staff, and around 1,300 technicians are to be recruited across the Group. Additionally, a total of around 1,200 employees are being sought to fill administrative areas across the Group, as well as around 800 pilots. More than half of all recruitment is to take place in Germany, while over 2,000 employees will be employed by Lufthansa Technik. Austrian Airlines and Eurowings are each looking for around 700 employees to fill positions opening up in 2025.
“The Lufthansa Group is and remains an attractive employer with many different job profiles and career options,” said Michael Niggemann, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG with responsibility for Human Resources & Legal Affairs. “Last year alone, we received 350,000 applications across the Group and recruited over 13,000 employees. We look forward to welcoming every new colleague.”
The Lufthansa Group currently employs more than 100,000 people in over 90 countries. The new hires represent a key part of the Group’s business unit as it continues to implement an efficiency program known as ‘Turnaround’ which was launched in July 2024 to drive down costs and streamline the operations of the Group companies, which will include the phasing out of older aircraft in the respective member airline fleets.
The airline launched the efficiency plan in response to the multiple labor disputes that hit Group businesses in 2023/24 and impacted the Group’s bottom line. This action involved prominent Lufthansa strikes in February and March 2024, as well as industrial action at Discover Airlines and German airports, the latter of which had a major impact on Lufthansa’s operations and finances.
The Lufthansa Group posted its highest-ever third-quarter revenues in late 2024, recording a €1.3 billion ($1.34 billion) operating profit during the period and carrying over 40 million passengers for the quarter. However, its core brand, Lufthansa, suffered a 9% drop in profits during the same quarter. The airliner put this drop down to a rising cost base, lower passenger yields, and increased competition on key routes.
Aerospace is one of the few sectors in Germany likely to step up hiring in 2025, according to a study published by the German Economic Institute (IW), a think-tank based in Cologne, Germany.