Aer Lingus staff will today start considering whether to seek one of the 1,325 redundancy packages worth at least €40,000 each being offered by the airline.
Mr Willie Walsh
Management at Aer Lingus want to shed 1,300 jobs over the next three years to reposition the company as a budget carrier to compete with Ryanair and EasyJet. The cost of the restructuring will cost an estimated €80 million.
"There is no option but to face up to this market reality and to act decisively," chief executive Mr Willie Walsh said in a statement. "We anticipate that there will be considerable interest in the scheme."
Mr Walsh said staff would receive €7,000 for each year of service, up to a €70,000 maximum, and he set a September 14th deadline for applications.
But the deal is unlikely to appease unions who have threatened to strike over the job cuts.
Half of Aer Lingus's workforce has voted to take industrial action if Mr Walsh forces through the planned job cuts.
Siptu, which represents 2,300 of the roughly 4,000 Aer Lingus workers, said more than 90 per cent of its members voted for strike action.
The union wants to limit job losses, agree on redundancy packages and improve deals for remaining employees - who it says will have to do more work.