Caribbean Airlines will retrench some 450 of its employees or 25% of its workforce, in what the company says is part of efforts to ensure a sustainable business model for 2021 and beyond.

The figure represents workers which were a “surplus” the the Airline’s current needs, a statement from CAL read on Monday.

“The Company will embark on consultation with the employees and other stakeholders, with respect to treating with this surplus labour situation,” CAL said.

The Airline suffered a loss of US$25.7 million for the first quarter of this year alone, which represents a 75% decline in revenue for the same period in 2020.

“The losses follow a similar downturn in 2020, which saw an operating loss of TT$738m (US$109.2m) compared to operating profits for 2018 and 2019. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of operations at its base in Trinidad and Tobago, the airline has seen passenger numbers plummet, and flight numbers reduced to less than 10% of normal operations,” CAL said.

Other measures to be taken includes reducing the number of jets in the fleet and adjusting the route network to reflect the changing market.