Lufthansa has reportedly planned to cut 29,000 jobs by the end of the year and another 10,000 jobs in Germany by next year as it continues to face challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Quoting unnamed company sources, the Bild am Sonntag newspaper said that the German carrier would shed 20,000 jobs outside of its home country while also divesting its LSG catering unit, which employs 7,500 people.

This would take the count of its total staff to 109,000.

The carrier and its subsidiaries, namely Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), Austrian Airlines, Eurowings, and Brussels Airlines, have cut down their flights and staff, as the industry expects air travel not to reach to the pre-pandemic levels before 2025, reported Reuters.

Lufthansa has already spent 3bn of the 9bn bailout provided by the government earlier in the year.

Last month, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said that it has a surplus of 27,000 full-time equivalent employees.

The airline had earlier promised worker unions not to make forced redundancies and would make cuts to bonuses and other payments.

A majority of the Verdi trade union members had supported the deal to cut costs and save jobs at Lufthansa.

Verdi’s members work as ground staff for the airline.

The deal with Verdi had come after several negotiations between the company and workers union, which alleged that the management was seeking to axe jobs even though it availed the bailout scheme.

In October, SWISS reportedly revealed plans to implement approximately 1,000 job cuts.

In September, Lufthansa announced plans to reduce its fleet size by 150 aircraft, out of a total of 760. It also decided to retire its remaining eight Airbus 380s.